US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said today, regarding the hostage crisis in Algeria, that the US will "take all necessary steps" to protect its citizens from threats by groups linked to Al Qaeda in the Maghreb.
"Whether it relates to helping others in military operations, whether it relates to conducting joint operations at the scene, these are topics that, I believe, still need to be considered," Paneta told the BBC during his visit to London.
"Our goal is to do everything to prevent Al Qaeda from creating a new base and conducting terrorist actions wherever it tries to hide," he explained.
"We will take all necessary measures to protect our compatriots," Paneta added.
The American minister pointed out that the US is "worried about Akmi (Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb), that branch of Al Qaeda that is in that part of Africa."
Panetta praised the operation in Mali led by France, the country that "took the initiative to try to stop Acmi."
"We will try to help them in that effort, as other countries are doing," he added.
West African heads of government and state gathered today in Abidjan to agree on sending a military mission to Mali, where French and Malian troops are battling Islamic extremists who hold the country's north.
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius is also participating in the summit.
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