West faces "decades" of conflict in N Africa David Cameron has raised the spectre of Britain being sucked into the fight against terrorists in north Africa for "decades" after the Algerian hostage crisis ended with more than 20 dead. The UK prime minister said on Sunday that the growing threat of Islamist militants in the Sahel region of Africa required "a response that is about years, even decades, rather than months." He compared the situation with that in Afghanistan, saying: "What we face is an extremist, Islamist, violent al-Qaeda-linked terrorist group, just as we had to deal with in Pakistan and Afghanistan." British officials said the government's response to threats in countries such as Algeria and Mali, where the UK is supporting French efforts to expel Islamist rebels, would mainly focus on attempts to strengthen governments and promote dialogue. But they added that British troops could be forced to take direct action against the growing threat of Islamist militants. Algerian officials warned that the initial casualty figure of 23 hostages and 32 militants was likely to rise while local newspapers quoting unnamed security forces said up to 30 bodies have been found at the sprawling gas complex which was being combed for explosives. Ten Japanese and five Norwegians were among those unaccounted for at the plant, which is operated by the UK's BP, Statoil of Norway and Algeria's Sonatrach. The first British fatality has been named by the Foreign Office as Paul Thomas Morgan, aged 46. It was unclear which company Mr Morgan had been working for. Mr Cameron said the UK must "work with others to defeat the terrorists and to close down the ungoverned space where they thrive with all the means that we have." He said the threat would "require a response that is about years, even decades, rather than months, and . . . that is patient, that is painstaking, that is tough but also intelligent." He said he would use Britain's chairmanship of the G8 this year to ensure that the issue is "right at the top of the agenda." In line with other western leaders, Mr Cameron refrained from criticising the Algerian authorities who mounted a final military assault on the facility on Saturday two days after their helicopters shelled vehicles in which the attackers had loaded hostages, causing many deaths. He did not repeat the "disappointment" he expressed on Friday over the decision to launch an attack on the hostage takers without his prior knowledge. Laurent Fabius, the French foreign minister said: "It's easy to say that this or that should have been done. The Algerian authorities took a decision and the toll is very high but I am a bit bothered . . . when the impression is given that the Algerians are open to question. They had to deal with terrorists. Algerian officials said the army decided to storm the gas facility only when it became clear the militants had killed the remaining seven hostages they held and were planning to blow up the site. An escaped British worker, Alan Wright, told ITV News said he and his colleagues hid in an office when they heard sustained gunfire. They stuck pieces of paper to the windows of the room so the militants could not see inside and after about 24 hours, his Algerian colleagues decided to attempt an escape. Disguising him as a local worker, they cut a hole in the perimeter fence and ran into the desert where they came across members of the Algerian military. The kidnappers calling themselves "Those Who Sign In Blood"" - part of an al-Qaeda splinter group led by the veteran jihadist, Mokhtar Belmokhtar, initially claimed the attack was in retaliation for France's military campaign in Mali. They reiterated this claim on Sunday, according to the Mauritanian news website Sahara Media. It cited a video, showing Mr Belmokhtar saying: "We in al-Qaeda announce this blessed operation," adding: "We are ready to negotiate with the west and the Algerian government provided they stop their bombing of Mali's Muslims." Sahara Media did not display the video itself on its site and it was not immediately possible to verify the information.