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| Gunmen take 170 hostages in attack on Mali hotel | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Gunmen have launched an attack on a Radisson hotel in Mali’s capital, Bamako, seizing about 170 people in an ongoing hostage-taking that has left at least three people dead. | |
| A spokesman for the Malian security ministry told AFP that security forces are storming the hotel and at least a dozen hostages have been freed after the attack by “two or three” assailants. | |
| The spokesman said at least three hostages had been killed. Their identities were not yet known. | |
| Related: Mali hotel attack: gunmen take hostages in Bamako – live updates | Related: Mali hotel attack: gunmen take hostages in Bamako – live updates |
| Malian army commander Modibo Nama Traore earlier said the gunmen who stormed the Radisson Blu hotel shouted “Allahu Akbar” before shooting at guards and taking hostages. | |
| Some hostages, including those able to recite verses of the Qur’an, were later released, security sources told Reuters. A security source told AFP that the gunmen were “jihadis” and entered the hotel compound in a car that had diplomatic plates. | Some hostages, including those able to recite verses of the Qur’an, were later released, security sources told Reuters. A security source told AFP that the gunmen were “jihadis” and entered the hotel compound in a car that had diplomatic plates. |
| “It’s all happening on the seventh floor, jihadists are firing in the corridor,” AFP’s source said. | “It’s all happening on the seventh floor, jihadists are firing in the corridor,” AFP’s source said. |
| The hotel is just west of the city centre in a neighbourhood that is home to government ministries and diplomats. | The hotel is just west of the city centre in a neighbourhood that is home to government ministries and diplomats. |
| In a statement the US-based Rezidor group, which owns the hotel, said 140 guests and 30 staff were being held hostage by two gunmen. | In a statement the US-based Rezidor group, which owns the hotel, said 140 guests and 30 staff were being held hostage by two gunmen. |
| “The Rezidor Hotel Group … is aware of the hostage-taking that is ongoing at the property today, 20th November 2015. As per our information two persons have locked in 140 guests and 30 employees,” the company said in a statement quoted by AFP. | “The Rezidor Hotel Group … is aware of the hostage-taking that is ongoing at the property today, 20th November 2015. As per our information two persons have locked in 140 guests and 30 employees,” the company said in a statement quoted by AFP. |
| Related: Are you affected by the Mali attack? Share your stories with us | Related: Are you affected by the Mali attack? Share your stories with us |
| “Our safety and security teams and our corporate team are in constant contact with the local authorities in order to offer any support possible to re-instate safety and security at the hotel,” it added. | “Our safety and security teams and our corporate team are in constant contact with the local authorities in order to offer any support possible to re-instate safety and security at the hotel,” it added. |
| The Chinese state news agency Xinhua said at least seven Chinese tourists were among those trapped inside the building. It has broadcast a 23-second video clip said to be filmed by one of the hostages: | The Chinese state news agency Xinhua said at least seven Chinese tourists were among those trapped inside the building. It has broadcast a 23-second video clip said to be filmed by one of the hostages: |
| Cell phone video filmed by Chinese tourist taken hostage in Bamako, #Mali. The Chinese national is among 170 trapped https://t.co/0QSaS5wMSs | Cell phone video filmed by Chinese tourist taken hostage in Bamako, #Mali. The Chinese national is among 170 trapped https://t.co/0QSaS5wMSs |
| Turkish Airlines said six of its staff were caught up. | |
| The US embassy in Bamako said it was aware of an “ongoing shooter situation” and advised its citizens to seek shelter. | |
| The Radisson attack follows a nearly 24-hour siege and hostage-taking at another hotel in August in the central Malian town of Sevare in which five UN workers were killed, along with four soldiers and four attackers. | |
| Five people, including a French citizen and a Belgian, were also killed in an attack at a restaurant in Bamako in March in the first such incident in the capital. | |
| Northern Mali was occupied by Islamist fighters, some with links to al-Qaida, for most of 2012. Although they were driven out by a French-led military operation, sporadic violence continues. | Northern Mali was occupied by Islamist fighters, some with links to al-Qaida, for most of 2012. Although they were driven out by a French-led military operation, sporadic violence continues. |