Twelve Russians working for the Volga-Dnepr cargo airline, which operates across the African continent, were reportedly caught up in the hostage-taking, but six of them were freed.
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Two people have “locked in” 140 guests and 30 employees in an ongoing hostage-taking at a hotel in Bamako, the Radisson hotel chain said in a statement on Friday (Nov 20).
Israel Radio said Shmuel Benalal, an education consultant and executive, was in Bamako advising the Mali government.
Friday’s assault on Bamako came just one week after 130 people were killed during coordinated terror attacks in Paris claimed by the Islamic State (IS). The militant group also claimed responsibility for downing a Russian airliner over Egypt three weeks ago, killing all 224 people aboard.
The exact number of gunmen is also not known. One of those killed was an American citizen, the US State Department said without providing additional details.
According to the Guardian, Keita described his country as the latest to join the global struggle against extremism as he declared a three-day mourning period after the deadly hotel siege. Mali troops, backed by French and US special forces, conducted a seven-hour operation Friday that ended the violence and led to the rescue of 170 hotel guests and staff held hostage during the siege.
“It’s very scary. It’s as if Bamako has become a war zone”, said local teacher Oumar Keita.
President Obama said on Saturday that the attack “only stiffens our resolve to meet this challenge”.
The palatial 190-room Radisson, regarded as one of the west Africa’s best hotels, is a favourite with entrepreneurs, tourists and government officials from across the world.
Guinean singer Sekouba Bambino Diabate, who was among the survivors, told the media the gunmen spoke English among themselves.
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The ministry further reaffirmed the country’s full solidarity with the Republic of Mali in the face of terrorism, expressing honest condolences and sympathy to the people and families of the victims, and extended wishes for speedy recovery for all the injured. France now has about 1,000 troops stationed in Mali, a former colony, as part of a counterterrorism effort. A man who worked for a Belgian regional parliament and an American aid worker were also killed. In 2013, France had sent military units to Mali to put down Islamists.
