Algerian hostage rescue hit by storms

Fierce sandstorms and low clouds helped force the delay of a military operation to free 15 kidnapped Europeans in the Sahara, a newspaper reported yesterday.

The 10 Germans, four Swiss and a Dutchman were abducted in February by Algerian Islamic militants. Another group of 17 hostages was freed last Tuesday.

The difficult weather conditions added a further element of risk to an extremely dangerous rescue attempt, for both hostages and security forces, the daily El Watan said.

The paper quoted an unnamed military official as saying a commando raid on the rebels' hide-out would only take place once all the necessary conditions for success were met.

On Monday, the Algerian military denied media reports that the travellers had already been freed. "All efforts are continuing," the army said.

Elite forces have taken up positions close to the suspected rebel hide-out in the Illizi region, near the Libyan border, El Watan said.

The military official was quoted as saying the guerrillas were battle-hardened, well-equipped and heavily armed. Army helicopters were regularly overflying the area.

But the French-language daily, Le Jeune Independent, said on Monday that talks between government negotiators and the kidnappers were under way, and that a negotiated released appeared imminent. There have been numerous conflicting reports recently over the fate of the hostages. The Algerian government has kept an official silence on the affair.

A separate group of 17 hostages was freed last week after a gunbattle between Algerian army commandos and the captors. Algerian authorities blamed that kidnapping on the Salafist Group for Call and Combat, which is fighting to topple the country's military-backed government and has been linked to al-Qa'ida.