Terror in Bamako170 hostages held in Mali’s capital

About ten gunmen, reported to be speaking English, early Friday morning stormed and took control over a luxury hotel in Bamako, Mali’s capital. Reports from the Mali security forces and hotel guests speak of three people who were killed and about 170 being held hostage by the terrorists.

The Telegraph reports that there was no immediate claim of responsibility, and it is not clear what organizations the attackers are affiliated with.

About eighty guests managed to leave the hotel – they either escaped, or were released by the attackers after proving they were Muslim by citing passages from the Quran. Five members of a six-member Turkish Airlines crew were among those released.

The developments so far:

• About ten gunmen, shouting “Allahu Akbar” but otherwise speaking English, raided the Radisson Blu hotel in an upmarket area of Mali’s capital, Bamako at 07:00 Friday. They initially held hostage 140 guests and 30 hotel staff, gathering them in one of the hotel’s ballrooms.
• At least three people were killed in the attack. They are said to include two Malian security guards and a French national.
• Some eighty hostages have been let go after Mali security forces entered the hotel. Those who escaped include five Turkish Airline staff and twelve Air France Staff. State TV showed footage of several hostages being freed.
• The UN and France have sent security reinforcement to the scene. France’s president, François Hollande, said everything possible was being done to end the siege.
• Turkish, French, Indian, Chinese, and Guinean citizens were staying at the hotel when the attack was launched.
• Mali’s president Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta has cut short a visit to Chad to take charge of handiling the crisis.
• There is a large French military presence in Bamako, which serves as the logistical and command center for the French forces, numbering about 4,000, who lead France’s war against Islamic militancy in the Sahel region.