Several witnesses have claimed that the gunmen entered through the gates of the hotel in a auto with a diplomatic number plate before opening fire with AK-47s and throwing grenades inside the building.
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Seven Malians, including police officers and security guards, are now being treated at Bamako’s Gabriel Toure, majority for bullet wounds. Another terrorist attack was carried out on a restaurant in Bamako in March.
“They started firing at the tables”, he said. “They’re not kicking down doors or going after bad guys”.
“When I opened the door, I saw, on the floor, bullets”, he said. Among those who fled the luxury hotel were three Britons.
The hotel was hosting delegations attending peace talks. Both French and USA military personnel were also on the scene.
The assault began around 0700 GMT, when gunmen arrived at the hotel and starting shooting their way inside, taking guests and staff hostage.
Tight security surrounds Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita as he visits the Radisson Blu hotel in Bamako, Mali, Saturday, November 21, 2015. The two groups are rivals.
In its condemnation of the attack, the 57-nation Organization of Islamic Cooperation linked the attack to the negotiations, saying its goal was to “destabilize Mali and destroy the peace process”.
The group is affiliated with terrorist group Al-Qaeda.
Belmokhtar was targeted in a US airstrike in Libya in June.
Why was the hotel targeted? He said the victims were “innocent people who had everything to live for”.
This, however, is the third attack in Mali this year claimed by al-Murabitoun.
Northern Mali has been unstable since it fell to Tuareg separatists and Islamic extremists following a military coup in 2012.
Senegal’s President Macky Sall was expected in Bamako later Sunday “to show the sympathy of the Senegal people” towards their west African neighbours, the Mali president’s office said. All but one of the victims were hotel guests.
At least one American, two Belgians, three Chinese and six Russians were among the dead, officials from those countries said. Six other Russians were freed.
The U.S. Embassy in Mali told citizens to shelter in place and contact their families.
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“He tried to help Third World countries, to better their education systems and give hope to young people”, Tzvi Raviv told Ynet. “We hope all the relevant bodies are working to bring him back to us as soon as possible”, the family said in a statement, according to Channel 2.
