Malian security minister, Salif Traore, said that there were two attackers armed with AK-47 assault rifles.
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Despite the presence of French troops and the United Nations force, the extremists have continued attacks in the north. Extremists have also extended attacks farther south this year, including an assault on a Bamako restaurant/nightclub popular with foreigners in March and a November 20 attack on a luxury hotel in the capital.
Officials had previously said that 19 people were killed in addition to the gunmen, but on Friday Amadou Sangho, spokesman for the interior ministry, said there were 20 victims from seven countries.
In the wake of a deadly attack on the Radisson Blu hotel in Bamako on Thursday, Mali authorities have apprehended two people that are suspected of having links to the attackers. The two suspects were brought in for interrogation after credible information was found in one of the assailants’ mobile phone, a source close to the investigation said.
Hours later, Malian commandos entered the hotel and freed 170 hostages that the gunmen had been holding as hostage. The deaths of the six Russians follow the downing last month of a Russian airliner over Egypt in a bomb attack claimed by the Islamic State.
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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. Three militant groups have claimed responsibility for the attack.
