Two suspects, who were arrested for the attack on a hotel in Mali’s capital Bamako, have been identified, a statement from the country’s intelligence agency said on Friday. Both men are in their early 30s.
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Similarly, a source close to the investigation said the suspects had been brought in for interrogation, based on information found in one of the attacker’s mobile phones. The spokesman did not provide details on what their exact role was. Malian security forces say the three groups may have been cooperating with each other.
They shot at “anything that moved” as terrified patrons dashed for cover all over the hotel, he said. Despite the timing of the attacks, one week to the day after an ISIS-led terrorist attack in Paris killed 130 people and injured over 300, the Mali attacks were not associated with ISIS. Al-Mourabitoun, the first Islamic extremist group to claim responsibility, issued a statement Sunday identifying them using names suggesting they were Malian, though authorities have yet to confirm their identities.
While Mali has certainly had its own problem with terrorists operating in its northern region, the attack raised the question of possible coordinated strikes on allies of the west which present softer targets because of less extensive security and surveillance abilities.
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Germany, meanwhile is also ready to send up to 650 soldiers to help the United Nations force, which is now a few thousand men short to reaching its full strength of 12,680 men, although it’s not clear how much help the additional troop could actually contribute in expanding the scope of the mission. While Islamist militant groups have largely been drawn out of Mali’s major cities, they have regrouped in the desert.
