Kyodo via AP

An Islamic militant (in camouflage uniform, rear right) stands near Algerian employees who were forced to leave their living quarters with their belongings at the In Amenas natural gas complex in Algeria on Jan. 16.

The images are striking for what they don’t show. They hold only hints of the bloodshed to come.

The Japanese news agency Kyodo has released the first photographs from inside a hostage crisis in the North African nation of Algeria, secretly snapped by one of the captives with a cellphone camera.

Islamist fighters stormed a gas field and nearby barracks on Jan. 16 and took hundreds of people hostage. The Algerian army launched a rescue raid the following day, opening a three-day standoff.

It ended in a bloody clash. The Algerian government put the death toll at 67, including 38 foreign workers and 29 militants. The U.S. State Department said that three Americans were among those killed.

The photos released by Kyodo depict the opening hours of the crisis. They show a scene that -- while certainly not safe -- appeared stable.

In one shot, an Islamic militant, armed and wearing a mask and camouflage uniform, stands several feet away from three Algerian workers who had been forced to leave their living quarters. One of the three is wearing a hoodie, and another has his hands stuffed in his pockets.

Kyodo via Reuters

An Islamic militant (rear center, in camouflage) stands among Algerian employees who were forced to leave their living quarters with their belongings at the In Amenas natural gas complex on Jan. 16.

In a second photo, Algerian workers stand around among duffel bags and plastic water bottles arranged on the ground outside. A militant appears in the background, facing away, easy to miss but for the butt of his rifle.

A third picture is far more ominous: In the foreground are several militants, in the background at least a dozen hostages, forced to sit against a wall of the complex.

Kyodo via AP

Islamic militants stand in front of foreign hostages, seen sitting against a wall, at the Ain Amenas natural gas complex on Jan. 16.

Kyodo did not say how it had obtained the photos. A Japanese government source said on Monday that the Algerian government listed nine Japanese killed in the siege, the highest toll among non-Algerians working at the site.

Issouf Sanogo / AFP - Getty Images

People gather near an armored vehicle as French soldiers arrive in the city of Diabaly on Jan. 21. Today, French and Malian troops recaptured the Malian towns of Diabaly and Douentza from Islamist fighters, France's defense minister said. Diabaly has been the center of air strikes and fighting since being seized by Islamists a week ago.

Joe Penney / Reuters

French soldiers stand guard in front of charred pickup trucks in Diabaly, Mali, on Jan. 21.

Jerome Delay / AP

A Malian soldier checks identity papers in the center of Diabaly, Mali, approximately 320 miles north of the capital Bamako on Jan. 21. French and Malian troops were in the city whose capture by radical Islamists prompted the French military intervention.

Issouf Sanogo / AFP - Getty Images

A Malian soldier holds a French and Malian flag after arriving in the city of Diabaly on Jan. 21.

By Bate Felix, Reuters

French and Malian armored columns rolled into the towns of Diabaly and Douentza in central Mali on Monday after the al Qaida-linked rebels who had seized them fled into the bush to avoid air strikes. 

France said the advance was a significant step in its campaign to break Islamist fighters' grip over Mali's vast desert north, a presence raising fears of the region becoming a an African launchpad for international militant attacks.

The stakes in Mali rose dramatically last week when Islamist gunmen cited France's intervention as the reason for attacking a gas plant in neighboring Algeria, seizing hundreds of hostages and sowing fears the conflict would spill across borders. Continue reading the full story.

Issouf Sanogo / AFP - Getty Images

A girl looks at Islamists pickup trucks destroyed during aerial strikes in Diabaly, Mali, on Jan. 21. Today, French and Malian troops recaptured the Malian towns of Diabaly and Douentza from Islamist fighters, France's defense minister said.

Joe Penney / Reuters

Malian soldiers carry a box of ammunition after searching through debris at a Malian military camp in Diabaly, Mali, on Jan. 21. French air strikes hit the camp a week ago after it was taken over by al Qaeda-linked rebels.

Joe Penney / Reuters

Malian soldiers stand guard at a checkpoint in Diabaly, Mali, on Jan. 21. Diabaly was retaken by French and Malian forces after al Qaeda-linked rebels took over the town a week ago.

Joseph Okanga / Reuters

A Kenya Wildlife Service warder inspects a section of elephant tusks. Police in Kenya have seized two tonnes of ivory worth $1.15 million, the biggest haul on record in the East African country.

By James Macharia, Reuters

"This is a big catch, the biggest ever single seizure of ivory at the port of Mombasa," said Kiberenge Seroney, the port's police officer in charge of criminal investigations.

"We fail to understand where one gathers the courage to park such enormous quantities of ivory, hoping that they can slip through our security systems."

Poaching is a growing problem for sub-Saharan African countries reliant on rich wildlife in their game reserves to draw foreign tourists.  Full story

Joseph Okanga / Reuters

A worker arranges elephant tusks recovered from a container on transit, at the Kenyan port city of Mombasa on Jan15.

Akintunde Akinleye / Reuters

A passenger speedboat churns up the water, while in the background an illegal oil refinery is left burning after an earlier military chase, in a windy creek near the Nun River in Bayelsa on Dec. 6, 2012.

Akintunde Akinleye / Reuters

A man works at an illegal oil refinery site near the Nun River in Bayelsa on Nov. 27, 2012.

Akintunde Akinleye / Reuters

A locally made boat containing crude oil is maneuvered through a creek near the Nun River in Bayelsa on Dec. 6, 2012.

Akintunde Akinleye / Reuters

A worker pours crude oil into a locally made burner using a funnel at an illegal oil refinery site near the Nun River in Bayelsa on Nov. 25, 2012.

By Akintunde Akinleye, Reuters

Here and there on the banks, people coated in oil wade through greasy mud in patches of landscape blackened and stripped of the thick vegetation that makes Nigeria's oil-producing delta so hard to police. Plumes of grey or yellow smoke fill the air as men who will give only their first names go to work in an illegal industry that the government says lifts a fifth of Nigeria's output of two million barrels a day.

Oil 'bunkering' -- hacking into pipelines to steal crude then refining it or selling it abroad -- has become a major cost to Nigeria's treasury, which depends on oil for 80 percent of its earnings.

Major General Johnson Ochoga, who leads a military campaign against bunkering that was stepped up last year under orders from President Goodluck Jonathan, told Reuters nearly 2,000 suspects had been arrested and 4,000 refineries, 30,000 drums of products and hundreds of bunkering boats destroyed in 2012.

Yet the complicity of security officials and politicians who profit from the practice, and the lack of alternatives for those who undertake it, cast doubt on the likelihood of success.

Read the full story.

Editor's note: Reuters made these pictures available to NBC News on Jan. 15.

Akintunde Akinleye / Reuters

A warning sign belonging to the company Royal Dutch Shell is seen along the Nembe Creek in Bayelsa on Dec. 2, 2012.

Akintunde Akinleye / Reuters

A man named Godswill works at an illegal oil refinery site, where steam rises from pipes carrying refined oil from a burner into broken containers, near the Nun River in Bayelsa on Nov. 27, 2012.

Akintunde Akinleye / Reuters

A man named Godswill collects crude oil from a mini storage unit filled with oil, which is waiting to be refined at an illegal refinery site near the Nun River in Bayelsa on Nov. 27, 2012.

Akintunde Akinleye / Reuters

Ebiowei, 48, pours water to reduce the intensity of the fire in a locally-made burner at an illegal oil refinery site near the Nun River on Nov. 27, 2012.

Akintunde Akinleye / Reuters

A closed fuel station is seen in the Ahoada community near Nigeria's oil hub city of Port Harcourt on Dec. 6, 2012.

Previously on PhotoBlog:

• Extremes of wealth and poverty revealed in photos of Nigerian oil industry
• Pipeline explosion kills at least 3 in Nigeria
• Wicked wicker car wows in Nigeria
• Smoldering scene in Lagos, Nigeria after plane crash
• Secret prison in the jungle on Nigerian island
• Thousands of Nigerians protest fuel prices, as government fears 'anarchy'

Akintunde Akinleye / Reuters

People look at the interior of a car covered with woven raffia palm cane parked along a road in Ibadan, southwest Nigeria, on Jan. 10.

A car covered with woven raffia palm cane is parked in front of an artisan's workshop in Ibadan, southwest Nigeria, on Jan. 10. The car appears to be a form of mobile advertising for the artisan's services.

Akintunde Akinleye / Reuters

Artisan Ojo Obaniyi, 40, weaves a cover with raffia palm cane for a wheel plate at his workshop in Ibadan.

Previously on PhotoBlog:

• Mumbai taxi drivers bid farewell to an icon of the road
• An Aston Martin you can afford, but just can't fit in
• Homemade Lamborghini replica draws admiring glances from Chinese drivers

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Sia Kambou / AFP - Getty Images

People leave Damara, the last strategic town between the rebels from the Seleka coalition and the Central African Republic's capital, Bangui, on Jan. 2, 2013, as the commander of the regional African force FOMAC warned rebels against trying to take the town, saying it would "amount to a declaration of war."

Ben Curtis / AP

Chadian soldiers who are fighting in support of Central African Republic President Francois Bozize ride in a convoy on the road leading to Damara, about 44 miles north of Bangui, on Jan. 2, 2013.

Rebels in the Central African Republic said they had halted their advance on the capital on Wednesday and agreed to start peace talks, Reuters reports.

The Seleka rebels had pushed to within striking distance of Bangui after a three-week onslaught and threatened to oust President Francois Bozize, accusing him of reneging on a previous peace deal and cracking down on dissidents.

More than 30 truckloads of troops from neighboring Chad lined a two-lane highway outside the nearby town of Damara on Wednesday, The Associated Press reports, supporting government forces who aimed to block the rebel advance. Gen. Jean Felix Akaga, who heads a 10-nation regional force, said the town is a "red line that the rebels cannot cross" or his forces will attack. 

The U.S. Embassy in Bangui was evacuated on Dec. 28 as a result of the uncertain security situation in the country.

Ben Curtis / AP

Chadian soldiers on the road leading to Damara on Jan. 2, 2013.

Ben Curtis / AP

A Chadian soldier sits on a truck near Damara on Jan. 2, 2013.

Ben Curtis / AP

A soldier runs to jump on a moving truck carrying Chadian soldiers in Damara on Jan. 2, 2013.

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Amr Abdallah Dalsh / Reuters

Anti-Morsi protesters shout slogans during a protest in front of the presidential palace in Cairo, Dec. 4, 2012.

Maya Alleruzzo / AP

An Egyptian woman holds a national flag as she listens to speakers, not pictured, in Tahrir Square in Cairo, Dec. 4.

Reuters reports — Egyptian police battled thousands of protesters outside President Mohamed Morsi's palace in Cairo on Tuesday, prompting the Islamist leader to leave the building, presidency sources said.

Officers fired teargas at up to 10,000 demonstrators angered by Morsi's drive to hold a referendum on a new constitution on December 15. Some broke through police lines around his palace and protested next to the perimeter wall.

The crowds had gathered nearby in what organizers had dubbed "last warning" protests against Morsi, who infuriated opponents with a November 22 decree that expanded his powers. "The people want the downfall of the regime," the demonstrators chanted.

"The president left the palace," a presidential source, who declined to be named, told Reuters. A security source at the presidency also said the president had departed. Full story…

Asmaa Waguih / Reuters

A protester carries a shield belonging to a riot police member who ran away as protesters clash briefly with riot police during a protest in front of the presidential palace in Cairo, Dec. 4

Mohamed Abd El Ghany / Reuters

A woman stands near barbed wire in front of the presidential palace in Cairo, Dec. 4.

Amr Abdallah Dalsh / Reuters

An anti-Morsi protester sprays paint reading "Control by Revolution" on a riot police vehicle during clashes in front of the presidential palace in Cairo, Dec. 4.

Maya Alleruzzo / AP

Fireworks burst over Tahrir Square as protesters gather in Cairo, Dec. 4.

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Marcos Moreno / AFP - Getty Images

Would-be immigrants row in an inflatable boat off the Spanish coast on December 3, 2012.

Spanish emergency services and the Moroccan navy intercepted three inflatable boats carrying sub-Saharan migrants across the Strait of Gibraltar on Monday, Agence France-Presse reports.

Thousands of Africans attempt to reach Europe from Morocco every year by crossing the narrow straits, often in leaky boats, with many dying.

Marcos Moreno / AFP - Getty Images

A would-be immigrant is helped to get on board a Spanish emergency services (Salvamento Maritimo) boat off the Spanish coast on December 3, 2012.

Marcos Moreno / AFP - Getty Images

Would-be immigrants use their own cell phones to call relatives and other immigrant boats after being rescued by Spanish emergency services in the Strait of Gibraltar on December 3, 2012.

Marcos Moreno / AFP - Getty Images

A would-be immigrant prays after boarding a boat of the Spanish emergency services in the Strait of Gibraltar on December 3, 2012.

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Phil Moore / AFP - Getty Images

Residents of the district around the military barracks celebrate as a Congolese government army (FARDC) soldier arrives in Goma, eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, on Dec. 3.

Phil Moore / AFP - Getty Images

Congolese government army troops ride on trucks through Gomaon Dec. 3.

Reuters reports: Government forces re-established control over Democratic Republic of Congo's eastern city of Goma on Monday after rebels withdrew, but a senior official said the insurgents were only a few kilometers away and still posed a threat.

The M23 rebel movement pulled its fighters out of the North Kivu provincial capital on Saturday after seizing it from fleeing U.N.-backed government forces and holding it for 11 days. Full Story

 Also on PhotoBlog: 

• Congo's displaced fearful after attack on camp
• Reluctant to leave, some rebels begin withdrawing around Goma
• Congo rebels pulling back; fate of Goma uncertain

Phil Moore / AFP - Getty Images

A Congolese government army soldier stands outside the military barracks in Goma on Dec. 3.

Goran Tomasevic / Reuters

A woman dances to celebrate the return of government soldiers to Goma on Dec. 3.

Goran Tomasevic / Reuters

A boy dances to celebrate the government army's return to Goma on Dec. 3.

Goran Tomasevic / Reuters

Government army soldiers use mobile phones to record videos in the town of Sake, some 17 miles west of Goma on Dec. 3.

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Phil Moore / AFP - Getty Images

A group of internally displaced Congolese gather in the Mugunga III IDP camp in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo on December 2, 2012.

UN refugee agency officials reported cases of looting and rape in an attack late on Saturday on a camp for people displaced by the fighting in eastern Congo, Agence France-Presse reports.

On Sunday people in the Mugunga III camp, which lies about six miles west of Goma and is home to up to 35,000 displaced people, lined up to receive food aid.

More photos from The Democratic Republic of Congo on PhotoBlog

"What is the point of all this food if there is no-one here to protect us, and to stop them coming back?" one resident of the camp asked. 

Rebel fighters pulled out of Goma on Saturday, raising hopes regional peace efforts could advance negotiations to end the insurgency.

Phil Moore / AFP - Getty Images

A boy shelters from the rain under a truck in the Mugunga III IDP camp on December 2, 2012.

Phil Moore / AFP - Getty Images

A man unloads sacks of food aid at the Mugunga III camp on December 2, 2012.

Phil Moore / AFP - Getty Images

A boy is apprehended by a policeman after he was accused of stealing a bag of salt in the Mugunga III IDP camp on December 2, 2012.

What makes a nation, other than its people? Is it the flag, the passport, the currency, the anthem? Or is it something more complex and harder to pin down?

In seeking to illustrate the latest in a series of Reuters special reports on the growing pains of South Sudan, photographer Adriane Ohanesian gathered a selection of objects. 

Adriane Ohanesian / Reuters

Photo illustrations, clockwise from top left: A South Sudanese passport; A South Sudanese five pound note; A motorcycle license plate from the new nation's Eastern Equatoria State; A copy of South Sudan's national anthem handwritten by Gabriel Arnest, one of its three composers.

Adriane Ohanesian / Reuters

Photo illustrations, clockwise from top left: The South Sudan national soccer team's jersey; A bottle of White Bull beer, produced in Juba; A tote bag with the slogan 'I heart Juba'; A car air freshener showing the seal of South Sudan.

Reuters reports — Not all new countries are really new. Some are born almost fully formed; others have to start from nothing.

Adriane Ohanesian / Reuters

The flag of South Sudan.

That difference is crucial to a new nation's chances of success.

More than half the youngest nations in the world were born or reborn after the collapse of communism in Europe and had existed as independent states as far back as the Middle Ages. Most regained independence with established institutions — courts, banks, police forces, schools — and skilled people to run them.

Interactive: Key measures on the world's newest countries

South Sudan, which gained full independence last year, is at the other end of the spectrum. When it won a measure of autonomy from Sudan in 2005, its roster of organized, national institutions began and ended with its army.

"In the case of South Sudan, you don't reconstruct, you don't rebuild, you start from scratch," Hilde Johnson, the U.N. Secretary General's Special representative for South Sudan, told Reuters. Read the full story.

Related content: 

• Blood and oil tinge South Sudan's first birthday
• 120 doctors for 8 million people: South Sudan's health-care gap
• Slideshow: South Sudan declares independence
• More images from South Sudan on PhotoBlog

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Phil Moore / AFP - Getty Images

An M23 rebel patrols in the hills surrounding the town of Mushaki, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, on Nov. 29, 2012.

The AP reports: Rebels who last week seized Goma, one of the most important cities in eastern Congo, said they had pulled back slightly and were on track to leave the city by Friday, in accordance with a deadline imposed by the international community.

The apparent withdrawal of the M23 rebels indicates that international pressure may have succeeded in reversing the rebel advance and staved off what could have been the start of a new war between the enormous, jungle-covered nation of Congo and its much smaller and more affluent neighbor, Rwanda. Full Story

Jerome Delay / AP

M23 rebels gather in the eastern Congo town of Sake, some 17 miles west of Goma, Congo, on Thursday.

Jerome Delay / AP

Congolese people look at a Congolese government soldier as government troops gathered Thursday in a stadium near Minova, Congo, some 25 miles southwest of Goma, for a morale building session and an address by their commander, Gen. Bahouma.

Jerome Delay / AP

FARDC Congolese government special forces gather in a stadium near Minova, Congo on Thursday for a morale-building address by their commander.

Also on PhotoBlog:

• Congo's displaced wait for resolution
• Congo army fights back, rebels hold Goma
• Congo police surrender, hand in weapons as rebels take control of Goma