'Briton killed' and '40 BP workers held hostage' in Algeria attack The natural gas complex, the third largest in the country, is a joint venture of British Petroleum, Norway's Statoil and the Algerian Sonatrach company located some 800 miles (1,300 kilometers) south of the capital near the Libyan border. The Foreign Office was not yet able to confirm those reports. Other local sources said a French national was killed in the attack. An Irish national from Northern Ireland is believed to be among those held. The Foreign Office confirmed that "British nationals are caught up in this incident" and it had "political and consular crisis teams working on this incident." A militant group claimed responsibility for the attack saying it was in revenge for Algeria's support of France's operation against al-Qaeda-linked rebel groups in Mali. In a statement BP said the site was "attacked and occupied by a group of unidentified armed people," and some of its personnel are believed to be "held by the occupiers." Ireland announced that a 36-year-old married Irish man was among them, while Japan and Britain said their citizens were involved as well. Algerian forces have surrounded the kidnappers and negotiations for the release of the hostages are ongoing, an Algerian security official based in the region said, adding that the militants had come from Mali. "After their failed attempt, the terrorist group headed to the complex's living quarters and took a number of workers with foreign nationalities hostage," said the statement, adding that authorities were following the situation very closely. The attack raised fears that the French action in Mali could prompt further Islamist revenge attacks on Western targets in Africa, where Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb operates across borders in the Sahara desert, and in Europe.