Canadian in charge of deadly hostage-taking named by Algerian PM

ALGIERS, ALGERIA-A total of 37 foreigners and an Algerian died at a desert gas plant and five are still missing after a four-day hostage-taking coordinated by a Canadian gunman, Algerian Prime Minister Abdelmalek Sellal said on Monday.

More bodies found at Algeria gas plant

Sellal also told a news conference that 29 Islamists had been killed in the siege, which Algerian forces ended by storming the plant on Saturday, and three were taken alive. Most of the gunmen were from various states of north and west Africa.

With some bodies burned beyond recognition and Algerian forces still combing the sprawling site, some details were still unclear or at odds with figures from other governments.

The siege has shaken confidence in the security of Algeria's vital energy industry and drawn attention to Islamist militancy across the Sahara, where France has sent troops to neighbouring Mali to fight rebels who have obtained weaponry from Libya.

Of the 38 dead captives, out of a total workforce of some 800 at the In Amenas gas facility, seven were still unidentified but assumed to be foreigners, Algerian premier Sellal said.

Canada to Buy Mine Clearing Roller System For Leopard 2 Tanks

Here are the details from the government’s notice of awarding the contract sole source via an ACAN:

The Department of National Defence (DND) has a requirement for the integration of a Mine Clearing Roller System (MCRS) on the Canadian Leopard 2 Main Battle Tank (MBT) fleet. This includes acquiring 16 MCRSs, associated documentation, drawings, spare parts (two year supply), tooling, training, and other logistics support, and the right of use for Canada’s purposes only related to the MCRS. To complete the requirement, the Contractor must have an MCRS that has been tested and proven to operate on a Leopard 2 MBT.

Furthermore, Canada has developed new roller wheels (and associated hardware) to increase mine-kill effectiveness of the MCRS. Each roller bank consists of 14 new steel wheels approximately 900 mm in diameter, totalling approximately 5000 kg per bank. These roller wheels were developed to fit in the dimensional envelope of NSN 2590-01-499-3783 (roller bank assembly – excluding the standard roller wheels). Therefore, to complete the requirement, the Contractor must also possess the intellectual property rights for the roller bank assembly, NSN 2590-01-499-3783 (excluding the roller wheels).

It is intended to award a sole source Contract to Urdan Metal Casting Industries Ltd,Kfar Saba, Israel, who holds the intellectual property rights for NSN 2590-01-499-3783, making it the only company capable of performing the proposed contract .

The Goods shall be delivered in 2014.

Estimated Cost of the proposed Contract

The estimated value of the proposed contract is $10,000,000.00 CDN (including GST/HST).