Two people were killed and 41 taken hostage by Islamist militants at a gas plant in Algeria on Wednesday.
The hostages were described as 'Western' and included British, French, Japanese and American citizens.
The group claiming responsibility told Mauritanian media that they entered Algeria from northern Mali and carried out the attack as revenge against French intervention in Mali and Algeria's cooperation.
The group which calls itself 'Signatories for Blood' said:
"Algeria was chosen for this operation to teach (Algerian President Abdelaziz) Bouteflika that we will never accept the humiliation of the Algerian people's honour... by opening Algerian airspace to French planes,"
See here for full AFP report.