Algerian special forces have launched a "final assault" on Islamist militants holding foreign hostages at a gas plant in the Algerian desert, killing 11 of the al Qaeda-linked fighters.
The official APS news agency said seven foreign hostages were killed by their captors, while 16 others had been freed.
Those freed included two Americans, two Germans and one Portuguese, according to local sources.
The nationalities of the others were not immediately clear.
There are also unconfirmed reports that Algerian special forces found 15 burned bodies at the plant.
An investigation was in progress to try and identify the bodies.
There was no immediate indication of the circumstances in which those found today had died.
Meanwhile, Irishman Stephen McFaul, who escaped on Thursday, is expected to arrive back to Belfast later today.
A spokesman for his family said the electrician supervisor had been flown into London's Gatwick Airport on a specially chartered flight last night.
However, meetings with UK Foreign Office officials and difficult weather conditions delayed the final leg of his journey.
Despite having explosives placed around his neck, Mr McFaul was able to escape when a vehicle he was in crashed after being attacked by the Algerian army, his brother Brian said.
He had been held for two days but made contact with his wife Angela at about 3pm on Thursday to say he was safe and well.
Last night, US State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland confirmed the death of one American, Frederick Buttaccio, in the hostage situation, but gave no further details.
Two Japanese, two Britons and a French national were among the seven foreigners confirmed dead in the army's storming of the plant, an Algerian security source told Reuters.
One British citizen was killed when the gunmen seized the hostages on Wednesday.
The base was home to foreign workers from Britain's BP , Norway's Statoil and Japanese engineering firm JGC Corp and others.
Norway says six Norwegians are still missing after two Statoil employees were "brought to safety" today.
Chief Executive Helge Lund said: "We can never lose hope ... bringing home our employees is our primary goal".
It was not immediately clear how the pair reached safety.
State-controlled Statoil, which is evacuating all non essential personnel from various Algerian facilities, has so far taken 51 employees out of the country.
JGC said it was missing ten staff. Britain and the United States have said they have citizens unaccounted for but have not said how many.
The militants said their attack was a response to the French military offensive in neighbouring Mali.
However, some US and European officials say the elaborate raid probably required too much planning to have been organised from scratch in the single week since France first launched its strikes.
Paris says the incident proves its decision to fight Islamists in neighbouring Mali was necessary.
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