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North Africa

Algeria terror leader preferred money to death
Moktar Belmoktar is known abroad as the man who orchestrated the abduction of scores of foreigners last week at a BP-operated plant in the remote, ...
Iraqi protester tries to set himself on fire
A demonstrator tried to set himself on fire in the north of Iraq Sunday in what is thought to be the first attempted self-immolation since ...
US wants to know how Algerian attack unfolded
The White House says it will work with the Algerian government to understand how events unfolded in the terrorist attack on a natural gas complex in ...
Egypt: Ton of explosives seized on way to Sinai
A senior Egyptian security official says police have seized a ton of explosives headed to the Sinai Peninsula, which borders Israel and the Gaza Strip
Fiscal crisis, budget battle mark Panetta's tenure
As Defense Secretary Leon Panetta's plane returned home Saturday night, completing his final official overseas trip, his staff gathered to salute his ...
Obama says US ready to assist Algerian officials
President Barack Obama said Saturday the U.S. stands ready to provide whatever assistance Algerian officials need in the aftermath of the deadly ...
US warns Americans of travel dangers in Algeria
The State Department is warning American citizens about the risks of travel to Algeria and is authorizing the families of State Department staff to ...
Algeria: 32 militants killed, with 23 hostages
In a bloody finale, Algerian special forces stormed a natural gas complex in the Sahara desert on Saturday to end a standoff with Islamist extremists ...
Egypt clashes at trial of security officers
Riot police fired tear gas Saturday to disperse dozens of demonstrators throwing rocks outside an Alexandria courthouse where the city's ex-security ...
From Munich to Beslan, hostage rescues turn deadly
Algeria said Saturday that at least 19 hostages and 29 militants have died in a standoff between Islamists who stormed a natural gas plant deep in the ...
Officials: S.Sudan, Sudan fail to agree in talks
South Sudan and Sudan have failed to reach an agreement on security arrangements and oil exports, officials said Saturday after several days of talks ...
State Dept.: 1 American dead in Algerian standoff
One American worker at a natural gas complex in Algeria has been found dead, U.S. officials said Friday as the Obama administration sought to secure ...
Algerian army takes hard line in militant battle
The militants had filled five jeeps with hostages and begun to move when Algerian government attack helicopters opened up on them, leaving four in ...
Africa forces' role in Mali faces diverse snags
West African nations that promised to send troops to fight al-Qaida in Mali are finding it's a lot trickier than they'd hoped to actually get boots ...
Group urges Egypt to not deport refugees to Syria
A New York-based rights group has urged Egyptian authorities not to repatriate asylum seekers to Syria, saying such a move would violate international ...
Panetta urges NATO to keep pressure on al-Qaida
As international military operations continued in Algeria and Mali, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta urged NATO Friday to be more innovative and ...
Sectarian unrest flares anew in southern Egypt
Police fired tear gas to disperse hundreds of Muslim protesters trying to storm a Coptic Christian church in southern Egypt Friday, after a word ...
Panetta: US-British working to free hostages
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said the U.S. is working with the British and Algerian governments to assess what is happening on the ground at a ...
60 hostages dead, missing in Algeria standoff
About 60 foreign hostages are still unaccounted for three days into a bloody siege with Islamic militants at a gas plant deep in the Sahara, Algeria's ...
Nations fume, quietly, over Algerian hostage raid
Nations with hostages in Algeria have reacted with muted anger to the North African country's decision to launch a military rescue mission without ...
Algeria: Army rescues hostages, toll unclear
Algerian helicopters and special forces stormed a gas plant in the stony plains of the Sahara on Thursday to wipe out Islamist militants and free ...
Hostages from at least 10 nations in Algeria
Islamic militants said they captured 41 foreign hostages at a natural gas complex in the Algerian desert. Some were killed in an Algerian military ...
US slams hostage-taking; Clinton to call Algeria
The Obama administration appeared to be in the dark Thursday about a hostage situation at a natural gas plant in Algeria, where Algerian forces ...