Special forces have freed all remaining hostages from a luxury hotel in Mali that was stormed by terrorists earlier today.
Around 10 jihadists attacked a Radisson Blu hotel in the centre of the country’s capital, Bamako, while shouting ‘Allahu Akbar’ and firing at security guards. They took around 170 people hostage.
Peacekeepers on the scene have seen 27 bodies, and UN officials say two jihadis have also been killed.
He added that UN officials are still helping Malian troops search the hotel.
Supporters of an al Qaeda-affiliated group have claimed responsibility for the attack.
Al Mourabitoun, an African jihadist group made up mostly of Arabs and Tuaregs, posted a message on Twitter saying they were behind the siege.
The group is based in the desert, and is led by former al Qaeda fighter Mokhtar Belmokhtar.
Around 20 hostages were freed before troops raided the hotel. A small number of these were released by the attackers, after they proved they could quote verses from the Koran.
As Malian and French troops moved in, the attackers barricaded themselves on the hotel’s seventh floor.
The terrorists are ‘holding no more hostages’, according to the security minister.
The jihadists were speaking to each other in English – despite Mali being a Francophone country.
Sékouba Bambino Diabaté, a famous Guinean singer who was one of the hostages, overheard them from the next room.
He said: ‘I heard them say in English ‘Did you load it?’, ‘Let’s go’. I wasn’t able to see them because in these kinds of situations it’s hard.’
Police stormed the hotel and freed captives ‘floor by floor’, according to officials.
While the attackers were still inside the building, one witness said they kept ‘hearing gunfire from time to time’.
A UN official said the attackers arrived at the hotel in vehicles bearing diplomatic license plates.
The President of Mali, Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta, tweeted that he would be cutting short a diplomatic trip to Chad to return to Bamako.
At the beginning of the attack, Brussels-based Rezidor Hotel Group released a statement on the attack saying that the gunmen ‘locked in 140 guests and 30 employees’.
‘Our safety and security teams and our corporate team are in constant contact with the local authorities in order offer any support possible to reinstate safety and security at the hotel,’ they added.
Terrorism in Mali
Following a military coup, large swathes of the former French colony were controlled by Islamist extremists for most of 2012.
Although a French-led military intervention in early 2013 drove most of the militants out, there has continued to be sporadic violence.
Most terrorist attacks have been in northern towns and cities, although the violence has spread further south this year.
In August, 17 people were killed during an attack on a hotel in Sevare in central Mali, around 375 miles northeast of Bamako.
Responsibility was claimed by the Sahara-based Islamist militant group al-Mourabitoun.
And an Islamist group killed five people last March in an attack on a restaurant in Bamako that is popular with foreigners.
Around 1,000 French troops remain in the country.
‘Very early in the morning there was gunfire. Apparently it’s an attempt to take hostages,’ a security source said.
‘The police are there and are sealing off the area.’
Malian soldiers, police and special forces stayed on the scene along with some UN peacekeeping troops and French soldiers.
They surrounded the hotel and blocked roads leading into the neighbourhood.
Foreign visitors in the Radisson Blu hotel
The hotel is popular with tourists and expats in Mali, meaning a number of the hostages are international visitors.
France
A French presidential source confirmed that French nationals are among those attacked, and that one French national has died.
Air France has cancelled all flights from Paris to Bamako, as a precaution.
In a statement the airline said 12 of its crew members were trapped in the Radisson Blu, but have now been safely released.
France’s national gendarme service says around 50 elite police troops are en route from Paris to Bamako.
The UK
It’s unknown if any of the hostages were British.
David Cameron has tweeted his support to the Malian people.
Belgium
Belgian foreign minister Didier Reynders said there were four Belgians registered at the hotel, but it is unclear if they were taken hostage.
Germany
Foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier says that two Germans who were taken hostage have been set free.
It’s unclear whether any other Germans were in the hotel.
Turkey
Seven Turkish Airlines staff members were among those trapped in the hotel, but six of them have been able to escape.
India
There were 20 Indian nationals among the hostages, according to India’s minister for external affairs Vikas Swarup, but they have now all been safely evacuated.
China
Chinese media reported that around 10 Chinese nationals were caught up in the violence, trapped in their rooms.
The US
US special forces are assisting Mali with the rescue.
The US embassy in Bamako warned people to take shelter and keep an eye on local media.
Six US citizens were among the hostages, but they’ve now been released.
