AIN AMENAS, Algeria (AP) -- Algeria's four-day hostage standoff appears to have come to a bloody end.
Algeria's state news agency says the country's special forces stormed the remote desert gas plant and killed 11 militants, but not before they in turn executed seven hostages.
The report, quoting a security source, did not specify if any hostages or militants remained alive or give the nationalities of the dead.
Algerian authorities estimated that around 30 militants occupied the natural gas plant on Wednesday and with 18 already reported dead, it appears the hostage crisis that involved hundreds of plant workers is finally over.
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 a Japanese, a British three Belgian and two American workers.
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