Military operation under way at Algeria siege

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Algerian soldiers had been surrounding the facility near In Amenas that kidnappers occupied on Wednesday, after killing a Briton and an Algerian.
A local resident told Reuters news agency that a number of people had been killed in the operation.
Reports quoting militants said at least 34 hostages and 14 kidnappers died.
There was no official confirmation of any deaths.
Militants told local media that Algerian forces had opened fire from the air.
The militants earlier said they were holding 41 foreign nationals. They are believed to include British, Japanese, US and Norwegian citizens.
Earlier, media reports and officials said a number of hostages had escaped from the gas facility.
Algerian Interior Minister Daho Ould Kablia earlier said the kidnappers were Algerian and operating under orders from Mokhtar Belmokhtar, a senior commander of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) until late last year.
One statement purported to be from the hostage-takers called for an end to the French military intervention against Islamist rebels in neighbouring Mali.
The Tigantourine gas facility is about 40km (25 miles) south-west of In Amenas, which is close to the Libyan border and about 1,300km (800 miles) south-east of Algiers.
BP operates the gas field jointly with Algerian state oil company Sonatrach and Norwegian firm Statoil.