There is an inquest going on right now regarding how this situation was handled.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/u-k-inq...aker-1.2946725
It is a pretty interesting read and highlights how one of the Canadian terrorists wasn't just "involved", but played a key roll. Perhaps more interesting though is how the situation was handled (and botched IMO).
At one point, the man from the UK company that was negotiating with the hostage takers, brought his cell phone home (the only link with the terrorists), and went to sleep. He missed a call at a critical time.
Quote:
That night, little had changed and Collins decided to go home at 11:00 p.m. to sleep, taking his cellphone with him. It was a decision questioned repeatedly during the inquest given that this cellphone was a crucial link with the militants at the scene. Sure enough, a new Shedad call comes through at 1:13 a.m. In the fog of sleep, Collins missed it. But then immediately received a text.
"Andy, it's 'Shadad' important that YNT [you need to call] ASAP."
Collins tries to call repeatedly, and eventually gets through at 1:36 a.m. He establishes that despite the threat a few hours earlier, no one had been killed.
"He said everything is all right. They didn't kill anyone. They didn't kill anyone. He repeated that several times," Collins told the inquest.
The military's attack had intensified. And Katsiroubas's words in this call appear more frantic. Collins insists the messages are being relayed to the right channels. But that hasn't translated into much on the ground, says Katsiroubas.
"Right now the army is firing at us. They fired at our direction, at the prisoners," he says.
"We have not been able to talk to anyone … the leader, the leader says that we'll, we'll talk to the military right now.”
Katsiroubas then goes on to talk about the state of the hostages.
"…people here are worried. They want to speak … to their government and they want to know what's going on. They want to know how the Algerian government, they want to know why the Algerian government is firing at us ... they're firing at everybody. It's not like indiscriminately shooting."
"Because we don't want these guys shot. They're going to just — everyone's going to die."
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It's hard to say how things may have turned out if the Algerian military didn't attack so heavily and so fast, but I think the way they handled it will always make people wonder if they were worried about their gas plant more than they were about the employees.
Obviously the terrorists are ultimately responsible for everything that transpired, but I think it's important to look at how the reactions of the other parties may have affected the situation.
