Gunmen went on a shooting rampage at the luxury Radisson Blu hotel in Mali’s capital Bamako on Friday, seizing 170 guests and staff in an ongoing hostage-taking, the hotel chain said… Islamist gunmen killed at least 27 people there on Friday.
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According to the Radisson Blu Hotel’s owners, two armed men locked 140 guests and 30 employees inside the building Friday morning. Attackers reportedly freed a few captives who were able to recite the Koran. Malian officials reported that all hostages were rescued at the hotel within a few hours of the attack. The Chinese state news agency Xinhua said three of 10 Chinese tourists caught inside had been rescued. The NY Times newspaper reports “the hostage takers had been releasing Muslims and continuing to hold non-Muslims”.
Malian officials carry a corpse outside the Radisson hotel in Bamako, Mali, November 20, 2015. The President said on state television that the dead included two gunmen.
One security source said the Bamako attack could serve to refocus global attention on al Qaeda after Islamic State, which controls a swathe of Iraq and Syria, launched coordinated assaults a week ago in Paris in which at least 129 people died.
“We should yet again stand firm and show our solidarity with a friendly country, Mali”, said French President Francois Hollande. The French and USA embassies confirmed that the attack was underway.
Although Malian forces cleared the hotel of gunmen, one US service member – among the five Americans on location – stepped in to assist first responders with hostage recovery, the official said.
“China will strengthen cooperation with the global community, resolutely crack down on violent terrorist operations that devastate innocent lives and safeguard world peace and security”, Xi said.
US special forces assisted, said Col. Mark Cheadle of the U.S. Army’s Africa Command.
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The United Nations force in Mali took over responsibility for security in the country from French and African troops in July 2013, after the main towns in the north had been recaptured from the Islamist militants.
