(Reuters) - Twenty-five foreign hostages, including two Japanese citizens, escaped from the siege of a gas plant deep in the Algerian desert on Thursday, an Algerian security source said.

A group calling itself the "Batallion of Blood" said it was holding 41 foreigners inside the gas compound, which it stormed on Wednesday, demanding that France halt a military campaign against Islamist rebels in neighboring Mali.

Details to follow.

Mali Algeria