Missing sought after deadly end to Algeria desert siege

IN AMENAS, Algeria (AFP) - Governments scrambled on Sunday to track down missing nationals after the bloody end to a gas plant siege in the Sahara that saw Islamists kill at least 23 foreigners and Algerians, mostly hostages, as Algiers feared the toll may rise.

"I fear that it may be revised upward," Communications Minister Mohamed Said told public Channel 3 radio of the number of dead a day after special forces stormed the remote desert facility to end a crisis that saw seven foreigners killed by their captors in the final moments.

Japanese engineering firm JGC Corp said 10 of its Japanese and seven of its foreign workers remained unaccounted for. Five Britons and one UK resident are also reported either dead or still missing.

JGC confirmed the safety of 61 of its 78 workers at the In Amenas facility that was stormed at dawn Wednesday by militants from "Signatories in Blood," a group demanding an end to French military intervention in Mali.