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January 16, 2013 The State Department said Americans are reported to be among the hostages taken by militants at an Algerian gas plant. The total number of hostages is unclear, as are the number of Americans. The attack is seen as retaliation against France's intervention against Islamists in neighboring Mali.

Summary

January 16, 2013 After five days of airstrikes aimed at Islamist militants, French troops are engaged in their first ground operation in Mali, according to several news outlets. The rebels, who had vowed to retaliate, may have done so by grabbing hostages at an oil field in neighboring Algeria.

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January 15, 2013 Francois Hollande seemed diffident in the first months of his presidency, but his recent moves have surprised critics. He has sent French troops into Mali to combat Islamist rebels, and on the domestic front brokered a labor deal after years of union clashes.

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January 14, 2013 Looking to rout Islamist militants who might try to make Mali a base for terrorist operations elsewhere, French forces have been mounting air and ground attacks. The militants pushed back on Monday and said they would take the fight to French soil.

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January 13, 2013 A French soldier and 17 Islamist rebels were killed in the raid to rescue a French hostage in Somalia, who is also believed to have died. The president's acknowledgment of the U.S. role in the raid came the same day as France said the U.S. provided "communications and transport" support for the ongoing French military action against Islamist rebels in Mali.

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