‘Long battle’ warning on Islamist terrorists

David Cameron has warned that the Algerian hostage crisis, in which at least six British nationals are believed to have died, could mark the beginning of decades of Islamist terrorism in north Africa.

The Prime Minister yesterday disclosed that three Britons had been killed and three more were feared dead after the four-day stand-off in the desert. A UK resident is also believed to have been killed.

As Algerian forces continued dismantling the mines and explosives left by the militants who booby-trapped the sprawling BP gas plant at In Amenas, the Algerian authorities warned that the provisional death toll of 23 hostages was likely to rise.

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All 32 militants involved in the attack were reported to have been killed – some of them after reportedly “executing” their foreign captives as Algerian special forces mounted their final assault to take back the facility.

Speaking after 22 British survivors had been flown home, Mr Cameron said the attack was a “stark reminder” of the continuing terrorist threat and vowed to use Britain’s chairmanship of the G8 to ensure that it was right at the top of the international agenda.

“This is a global threat and it will require a global response. It will require a response that is about years, even decades, rather than months,” he said.

“It requires a response that is patient and painstaking, that is tough but also intelligent, but above all has an absolutely iron resolve and that is what we will deliver over these coming years.”

The PM is to make a Commons statement on the crisis today.