Jihadists launched a rocket attack on Friday on an Algerian gas plant jointly operated by foreign companies, three years after a deadly hostage crisis at another facility in the Sahara desert.
It was the most serious such attack since the 2013 assault, when Islamist militants stormed a complex in Algeria's remote east and began a four-day siege that left dozens dead. There were no reports of casualties in the attack, companies and workers at the site said.
“This morning, at approximately 06:00 local time, the In Salah gas asset in Krechba was hit by explosive munitions fired from a distance,” Norwegian oil and gas firm Statoil said in a statement.
Britain’s BP, which along with Algerian company Sonatrach also operates the plant 1,300 kilometres south of Algiers, said no employees were hurt. “There are no reports of any injuries to personnel at the site and the Central Processing Facility (CPF) has been shut down as a safety precaution,” it said.
A plant employee who did not wish to be named said the site is surrounded by a security fence and soldiers are permanently on guard.