Some Algerian hostages were free to walk around the site but not to leave , Arnoux said . NEW : 6 Americans are freed or escaped , State Department says . Algeria says the hostages were killed in the wake of a military operation . Terrorists are ` ` entrenched '' in a gas chamber with explosives , APS says . The US rejects a Saudi prisoner exchange offer made by a jihadist spokesman .
NEW : 6 Americans are freed or escaped , State Department says . Algeria says the hostages were killed in the wake of a military operation . Terrorists are ` ` entrenched '' in a gas chamber with explosives , APS says . The US rejects a Saudi prisoner exchange offer made by a jihadist spokesman .