The location of the Algeria hostage crisis. Photo: Screenshot.

CNBC – Nearly 100 out of 132 foreign hostages have been freed from a gas plant deep in the Sahara, Algeria’s state news service said Friday, three days into a bloody siege with Islamic militants.

That number of hostages at the remote desert facility was significantly higher than any previous report, and still meant that the fate of over 30 foreign energy workers was unclear. Yet it could indicate a potential breakthrough in the confrontation that began when the militants seized the plant early Wednesday.

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