Fewer than 30 Britons are still "at risk" in the hostage situation at a remote desert gas facility in Algeria, Prime Minister David Cameron has said.
One Briton was killed when militants ambushed a convoy on Wednesday, but the fate of others was unclear.
Mr Cameron said the number was "significantly" lower than Thursday's estimate of 30, but he could not give any further details.
He expressed "disgust and condemnation" at the "brutal and savage attack".
Mr Cameron updated MPs on the situation after chairing a meeting of the government's emergency response committee, Cobra.
He described the attack as "large, well co-ordinated and heavily armed" and appeared to be pre-planned.
As the situation was still ongoing, he said he could not give details of the exact numbers of Britons affected.
BP, which owns part of the facility, said there was "a small number" of its employees "whose current location and situation remain uncertain".
Algerian troops had attempted to free the hostages on Thursday by storming the residential compound where most were thought to be.
Mr Cameron said he was not told in advance about Thursday's operation despite asking to be notified before any further action was taken.
The PM said the site was 18 hours by road from Algiers, and "one of the most remote places in the world" which meant it was difficult to get a full picture of what was happening.
"Last night the number of British citizens at risk was less than 30. Thankfully we now know that number has now been quite significantly reduced.
"During an ongoing operation I cannot say more on this at this stage."
From Algerian authorities he had learnt that "terrorists" first attacked two buses travelling to an airfield, then the residential compound and the gas facility, taking hostages at two locations.
Foreign nationals from at least seven other countries are involved, but precise numbers are not clear.
When the initial attack happened, Mr Cameron said the Algerians were offered British "technical and intelligence support", including hostage negotiation and rescue teams. This was declined.
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