Algeria: 32 militants killed, with 23 hostages

ALGIERS, Algeria -- In a bloody finale, Algerian special-operations forces stormed a natural gas complex in the Sahara Desert on Saturday to end a standoff with Islamists that left at least 23 hostages dead and killed all 32 militants involved, the Algerian government said.

With few details emerging from the remote site in eastern Algeria, it was unclear whether anyone was rescued in the final operation, but the number of hostages killed Saturday -- seven -- was how many the militants had said that morning they still had. The government described the toll as provisional and some foreigners remained unaccounted for.