Hostages in Algeria: Khrushchev's in Afghanistan

It all sounds like something out of We didn't Start the Fire, but the hostage scenario going on in Algeria right now sounds incredibly chaotic.  Reports of hostages escaping, being killed along with their captors by an Algerian strike force, and who knows.  Lots of different sources; the situation is occurring at a B.P. gas field, so my guess is that there are as many sources leaking news as there are officials representing the countries the various employees work for.  Plus BP, the militants, and various army officials.

It all makes for an interesting media circus.

From the L.A. Times article:

Captives being held are believed to be from the U.S., France, Japan, Norway and other countries. Reports on Wednesday suggested that as many as 41 foreigners were being held by an Al Qaeda-linked group calling itself the Signed-in-Blood Battalion.The ordeal has shown the volatility of a region bristling with gunrunners, smugglers and a visceral strain of Islamic ideology. Militant groups, including Algeria's Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), have been deadly at home but now present a widening danger in North Africa, including in Tunisia and Libya, where Islamic extremists have gained a foothold since the uprisings of the Arab Spring.

Does this sound like a bad Hollywood action movie to anyone?