(http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/MSNBC/Components/Photo/_new/130118-amenas-gas-field-jsw-1210p.photoblog600.jpg)DIGITALGLOBE/AFP/Getty ImagesThis satellite image provide by DigitalGlobe from Oct. 8, 2012 shows the In Amenas gas field in Algeria, which is jointly operated by BP, Norway's Statoil and Algeria's Sonatrach.By Michelle Kosinski, Correspondent, NBC NewsThe audacious assault by Islamist militants on a gas plant in Algeria that led to the capture of scores of hostages could spark copycat attacks, a terrorism expert warned Friday.
Terrorism analyst Evan Kohlmann, an NBC News contributor who has worked for the FBI, said that other groups would almost certainly be watching closely as the militant fighters led by Mokhtar bel Mokhtar seized the giant facility near In Amenas (http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/01/17/16565069-some-survive-algeria-gas-plant-hostage-crisis-but-fate-of-dozens-unknown?lite) — and might be inspired.
Follow @NBCNewsWorld (https://twitter.com/NBCNewsWorld) "(Militant groups) are all vying for attention — for fighters, for financing. They see this, they see the attention it gets," said Kohlmann, who has written about the enigmatic bel Mokhtar in the past.
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