The crisis continues at a remote desert gas plant in eastern Algeria, where Islamic militants seized a large number of hostages on Wednesday, government forces fought to free them on Thursday and a number of deaths — among both hostages and their captors — were being reported on Friday.

Though it was being reported that some of the hostages, who officials say included Americans and other foreigners, had either escaped or been freed, there was also word early Friday that some militants and captives were still somewhere in the sprawling facility.

Read More: NPR