Militants say 35 hostages dead in Algerian raid   ALGIERS,
Algeria (AP) -- Algeria raided a remote Sahara gas plant on
Thursday in an attempt to free dozens of foreign hostages held
by militants with ties to Mali's rebel Islamists, U.K. and
Japanese diplomats said. The militants claimed strafing by
Algerian helicopters killed 35 hostages and 15 kidnappers.   The
militant spokesman said the leader of the kidnappers, Abou El
Baraa, was among those killed. He said the militants would blow
up the remaining hostages if the Algeria army approached.  The
Algerian government did not immediately comment on the
situation, but both Japanese and British authorities confirmed
that they had been told by the Algerians there was an ongoing
operation to free the hostages. The Associated Press was not
able to independently confirm the casualties.   The number of
remaining hostages is unclear. The militants originally said
they had seized 41 foreigners, including Americans, Britons,
French, Japanese, Romanians, Malaysians, Iris