Algeria hostage crisis: desert siege ends in bloodshed In a joint press conference with US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta in the UK, Mr Hammond said the seige had been brought to an end but had resulted in further loss of life. The Algerian state news agency APS said that hostages had been executed by the Islamic militants as troops had tried to free them. Mr Hammond said: "The hostage situation has been brought to an end by a further assault by Algerian forces which has resulted in further loss of life. We're pressing the Algerians for details on the exact situation. He also said that the loss of life was "appalling and unacceptable and we must be clear that it is the terrorists who bear sole responsibility for it." Meanwhile Panetta refused to criticise Algeria over their handling of the operation, saying "they are in the region, they understand the threat from terrorism... I think it's important that we continue to work with it to develop a regional approach. The assault by heavily-armed Algerian troops on Saturday is the latest development in a crisis which began on Wednesday after the gas plant, run by a consortium including BP and staffed by many British workers, was stormed by militants. On Friday 573 Algerians and around 100 of 132 foreigners working at the plant were freed. The final assault on the gas complex began in the middle of the morning, ending a hiatus of almost 48 hours after the first attempt by Algerian forces to overpower the terrorists. Security sources said the al Qaeda militants' last stand had been in a factory or workshop area of the main gas processing complex. They had held it since Wednesday, when they launched an overpowering attack on the residential area, up to two miles away from the main plant, then the gas complex itself. Attempts to retake the facility were hampered on Saturday by mines which had been laid by the al Qaeda fighters during their last stand, local reports claimed. One photograph taken at the scene showed a Russian-built helicopter gunship in the air. A security source told the French news agency AFP: "The assault took place midmorning. Eleven terrorists lost their lives along with the foreign hostages. We think they were killed in retaliation. One source said 15 burned bodies had been found. Another said that 16 hostages had been freed, including two Americans, two Germans and one Portuguese. Eight Scottish residents working at the plant were safe and secure, according to Alex Salmond, Scotland's First Minister. He warned that some workers still unaccounted for had family in the country. French authorities said all their nationals were accounted for, Norway said six of its citizens were missing, while the Romanian government said one of its citizens was dead. There was no official count of how many hostages were still being held by the final group of militants holed up in the gas refinery, but the militants themselves had reported they were still holding three Belgians, two Americans, a Japanese and a Briton. Mr Hague was cautious in his public statement this afternoon, describing the situation as "ongoing." He said: "As of now, there are fewer than 10 British nationals at risk or unaccounted for, but that of course means that we must continue to prepare ourselves for bad news. I'm happy to say that we now have consular staff on the ground at In Amenas. They are already assisting British nationals there. Our ambassador is on the way there with further staff. Daho Ould Kabila, Algeria's Interior Minister, said the attackers - 30 men armed with rocket launchers and machine guns - were under the direct supervision of the Masked Brigade's founder, Moktar Belmoktar, a one-eyed Algerian militant linked to al-Qaida who has combined his long-running campaign against the Algerian government with a lucrative smuggling and kidnapping operation across the Sahara. Those hostages who had been rescued from the plant or escaped themselves began to tell dramatic accounts of the beginning of the siege, and the initial assault on Thursday by Algerian troops. One man told how to flush out any Westerners hiding amid the sprawling complex of the Tigatourine gas plant an al Qaeda gunman turned his weapon on his British captive. He then forced him to call out to his colleagues, luring them from where they were sheltering. Moment later, his purpose served, the man was executed in cold blood. Chabane, an Algerian cook who had managed to hide after jumping out of a window in the chaos of the attack, said: "They threatened him until he called out in English to his friends, telling them, "Come out, come out. They're looking for the Americans,"" he said. Mohamed, a 37-year-old nurse at Tigatourine, saw five people killed and their bodies dumped outside the complex's infirmary. Iba El Haza, a driver at the gas plant, said his captors spoke in different Arabic dialects, including Libyan, Egyptian and Tunisian, as well as English. "I saw five inside the plant, but I don't know how many others were outside," he said. From their accents I understood one was Egyptian, one Tunisian, another Algerian and one was speaking English or a foreign language. On Thursday, all the hostages, about 35 in number, were loaded into seven SUVs in a convoy that included 15 militants from the housing complex and used as human shields. Fearing the kidnappers were trying to make a break, the Algerian army sent attack helicopters into action. Ruben Andrada, 49, a Filipino civil engineer who had been forced to wear a "bomb necklace," described the bloody aftermath of helicopter gunship attack. When we left the compound, there was shooting all around. I closed my eyes. We were going around in the desert. To me, I left it all to fate," he said. The gunman behind me was shooting at the gunship and it was very loud. Then we made a sudden left turn and our Land Cruiser fell on the right side where I was. I was pinned down by the guy next to me. I could hear the helicopter hovering above. I was just waiting for a bullet from the helicopter to hit me. Mr Andrada said their vehicle separated from the convoy and overturned, allowing him and the others inside to escape. He suffered cuts and bruises and was grazed by a bullet on his right elbow. Elsewhere, taking advantage of the confusion, a driver called Brahim made his way to a perimeter fence with a group of Algerians, a Filipino and two Turks who had hidden in their quarters. "We cut the wire fence with clippers and ran for it, all together, about 50 of us with the three foreigners," he said. We were welcomed by the special forces who were only a few dozen metres from the base. The kidnappers told ANI that they were trying to move their hostages to a single location when the Algerians attacked. By Friday a small number of gun men and their remaining hostages had managed to retreat to a section of the plant, where they remained holed up on Saturday. The plant is jointly run by BP, Norway's Statoil and Algeria's state-owned oil company. An international outcry mounted over the Algerians' handling of the crisis. Experts noted that this is how they have always dealt with terrorists, refusing to negotiate. The standoff has put the spotlight on militancy plaguing the region and al-Qaida-linked groups roaming remote areas from Mali to Libya, threatening vital infrastructure and energy interests.