Security forces question 11 workers suspected of involvement in In Amenas attack

Counterterrorism forces started questioning 11 workers in joint ventures in the gas field in Tiguentourine, in In Amenas suspect of working for terrorist groups which attacked the site, security sources told Echorouk.

The end of the military operation opened door to investigations on the attack site. Investigators started questioning 4 guards at British Petroleum (BP), 5 employees at Algeria’s energy group Sonatrach and 2 workers at Japan’s JGC. All suspect workers and executives are expected to be questioned as well.

According to the same sources, counterterrorism forces recorded international phone calls made by suspected workers to people from the outside including Libya and Mali.

The Algerian army Saturday seized 3 Thuraya satellite phones after it killed 5 terrorists inside the oil field. They were given to counterterrorism forces which started checking the call registers.

Earlier, a spokesman for the Signers in Blood told the Nouakchott news agency terrorists had prepared the attack for two months because they were “very aware of the hypocrisy of the Algerian regime and knew that it would be France’s partner in its war on Azwad. On this basis, we planned the attack on the oil field. We had all the information and the maps of the site.”

This statement suggests that persons inside the oil field gave information to the attackers about the site.