Belmokhtar outlines hostage demands

Leader of the Algerian Signed-in-Blood Battalion, Mokhtar Belmokhtar, has demanded an immediate end to the French military operation in Mali, as a condition for the release of seven hostages held at the In Amenas gas facility in Algeria. In a video message posted on the Nouakchott news website, the militant also offered to exchange American hostages among the seven, with US-detained Egyptian cleric Sheikh Omar Abdel-Rahman and Pakistani prisoner Aafia Siddiqui. Belmokhtar said he was open to negotiations with France and Algeria if they stop the war in northern Mali. 12 hostages were killed in a rescue operation carried out by Algerian military forces in south-east Algeria on Friday. Over 600 Algerian and foreign hostages were freed in the raid.