Authorities in Mali have arrested two individuals who are suspected of being involved in Thursday’s deadly attack.
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Mali authorities have arrested two people linked to the attack on Radisson Blu hotel in Bamako, the security ministry said.
Two suspects have been arrested in relation to the Bamako Hotel Attack. Two gunmen armed with Kalashnikov assault rifles & explosives stormed the hotel before 7 a.m., hanging just as safety guards have been about to alter shifts.
Malian troops, backed by French and American special forces, retook the building and freed the terrified guests and hotel staff during a siege that lasted more than seven hours.
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. As per the phone records, it has been found that one of the individuals has been in regular contact with one of the gunmen who initiated the attack since August this year.
“With the serial numbers… we can trace whether these come from the Malian army stock, which was looted in 2012, or if they were imported illegally”, said the official, who gave only his first name, Laurent, in line with the policy of his division.
Six Malians and six Russians were killed along with three Chinese, two Belgians, one American, one Israeli and one Senegalese, according to Amadou Sangho, a spokesman for the interior ministry.
Security analysts say three islamist militant groups-al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQMI), al Mourabitoun and Massina Liberation Front (MLF) could be collaborating.
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French troops and a 10,000-strong United Nations peacekeeping force (MINUSMA) are struggling to stabilise the former French colony and strikes on both Malian and Western targets have spread further south and far beyond traditional militant strongholds.
