Four hostages have been freed from a hotel in central Mali after a standoff with Islamic extremists that left 13 people dead.
Advertisement
After the operation ended four additional bodies were found in the Hotel Byblos in the town Sevare, including three hotel staff and one jihadi fighter, said Lt Col Diarran Kone.
A military source said Malian Special Forces had rescued the hostages, including five foreigners who were evacuated to Bamako. the capitol of the country. Officials also said that at least six people were being held inside the hotel, and that an operation to free the hostages was ongoing, the Associated Press (AP) reported.
The United Nations mission said it had sent a Malian rapid response team from the capital Bamako – 620 kilometers (385 miles) to the south – and “reinforced the security of Sevare-Mopti airport”.
The UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilisation Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) has over 10,000 personnel in the West African country. However, the Russian embassy in Bomako denied any pilots had been taken, according to Russia’s Tass news agency.
The attackers launched the assault on the Byblos hotel in the early hours of Friday in what military sources and local residents said appeared to be a bid to abduct foreign guests.
According to military sources, South African, French, Ukrainian and Russian citizens were in the hotel when the attack occurred.
In accordance with officers, at the very least two militants have been killed within the preventing whereas seven suspected militants have been detained by authorities forces.
“This morning as I was leaving for work I heard shots and saw smoke coming from the Hotel Debo”.
At least four soldiers and one foreigner were killed, said an army spokesman, Col. Souleymane Maiga.
Dembele said an east European was believed to have escaped during the attack.
French army soldiers stand on armoured vehicles as they leave Bamako and start their deployment to the north of Mali as part of the “Serval” operations.
A French-led offensive ousted the jihadis from power in the north in early 2013.
Advertisement
It is unclear which group was behind the hostage-taking but Islamist militants have claimed responsibility for other recent attacks in the south and centre of Mali.
