Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb and its affiliate, Al-Murabitoun, said they carried out the attack.
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The Radisson hotel was attacked on Friday morning by a group of unidentified gunmen, who seized 170 guests and staff as hostages.
A spokeswoman for the Russian foreign ministry says six Russians were killed in Friday’s attack in Mali on the Radisson Blu hotel.
He explained 21 people were killed in the strike, including two gunmen.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry confirmed the presence of at one Israelis in the incident, saying he was rescued in the raid.
“The search has started and I can tell you that we are looking for more than three people at the moment”, said Major Modibo Nama Traore, describing the hunt for suspects who may have been involved. Keita is due to visit the site of the carnage today as Mali prepares to begin three days of national mourning on Monday.
President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita vowed in a televised speech that “terror will not win” and described the attackers as having “decided to break with humanity”.
Friday’s assault came a week after militants killed 130 people in a spate of gun and bomb attacks in Paris claimed by Islamic State.
USA national Anita Ashok Datar, 41, was in Mali working on projects involving family planning and HIV. ‘These terrorists are a global threat that we need to attack globally.
The council expressed its full support to the Malian authorities in their fight against terrorist groups and called on them to swiftly investigate this attack and bring the perpetrators to justice.
The militants were largely ousted by a French-led military operation launched the following year, but large swaths of Mali remain lawless.
The airline said Saturday that six had returned to Istanbul by private airplane after spending the night at the country’s Bamako embassy. Although Malian special forces have moved into the hotel, the siege continues.
“The police are there and are sealing off the area”, the security source said.
Guinean singer Sekouba Bambino Diabate, who was among the survivors, told AFP the gunmen spoke English among themselves.
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In 2013, several jihadi groups had taken over the northern part of Mali, a former French colony, before French forces helped the Malian army extricate them.
