Mali hotel attack: 'No more hostages' after special forces raid

Special forces carry out floor-by-floor rescue operation; at least 27 people killed
Agencies


At least 27 killed

Mali on Saturday began three days of national mourning and declared a state of emergency after a nine-hour siege by an Al Qaida affiliate at a top hotel in the capital left at least 27 people dead.


The assault, claimed by the Al-Murabitoun group led by notorious one-eyed Algerian militant Mokhtar Belmokhtar, ended after Malian and international troops stormed the luxury Radisson Blu hotel in Bamako.



The attack came as fears are mounting about terrorist threats a week after devastating attacks in Paris that killed 130 people claimed by Daesh, which also said it had downed a Russian passenger jet in Egypt weeks before.



The Malian government declared a 10-day nationwide state of emergency from midnight on Friday over the assault and called three days of mourning for the victims, who included three Chinese, an American and a Belgian.



Malian security sources said 27 out of more than 100 people taken hostage in the raid had died, while at least three "terrorists" were killed or blew themselves up.



US President Barack Obama on Saturday condemned the "appalling" attack, adding that "this barbarity only stiffens our resolve to meet this challenge" of extremist violence.



Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei expressed condolences for the victims and their families, adding: "China expresses indignation and strongly condemns this atrocity."



UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon also condemned the "horrific terrorist attack," suggesting the violence was aimed at destroying peace efforts in the country.



Mali has been torn apart by unrest since the north fell under the control of Islamist groups linked to Al Qaida in 2012.



The Islamists were largely ousted by a French-led military operation launched the following year, but large swathes of Mali remain lawless and prone to attacks.



Floor-by-floor rescue

BAMAKO: Suspected Islamist gunmen stormed a luxury hotel in Mali's capital Friday, firing automatic weapons and seizing more than 100 guests and staff in a hostage-taking that has left at least 27 people dead.



Special forces carried out a dramatic floor-by-floor rescue at the Radisson Blu hotel in Bamako, according to local television and security sources, eventually ending the siege about nine hours after it had begun.



The assault added to fears about the global terror threat a week after the Paris massacre that left 130 people dead although it was not immediately clear if there was a link.



Malian television broadcast chaotic scenes from inside the hotel as police and other security personnel ushered bewildered and terrified guests along corridors and across the main lobby.



"They currently have no more hostages in their hands and forces are in the process of tracking them down," Security Minister Salif Traore told a news conference.



Malian security sources said at least 22 hostages had been killed, adding that French special forces were "participating in operations alongside Malians".



Two of the gunmen had been killed, according to a Malian military source.



"The hostage-taking is over. We are in the process of securing the hotel," the source said on condition of anonymity, as civil protection officers removed the victims in orange body bags.



Two US special forces troops who happened to be at the nearby US embassy for meetings assisted in the rescue of six Americans.



The palatial 190-room Radisson, regarded as one of west Africa's best hotels, attracts entrepreneurs, tourists and government officials from across the world with its luxury spa, outdoor pool and conference suites.



Foreign guests described seeing a light-skinned man lying dead on the floor as they escaped early on.



Witnesses described around a dozen armed assailants, while security sources spoke of two or three "jihadist" attackers.



A paramedic said three security guards had been wounded while an AFP correspondent saw a police officer, who had been shot, being evacuated by security forces.



An AFP photographer saw a white man appear several times at a window on the second second floor, apparently waving in desperation for help.


Smell of smoke

A Chinese tourist quoted by the state-run Xinhua news agency said the "smell of smoke spread through the corridors and rooms, the Internet was cut and the hotel reception was unresponsive to phone calls".



The men are believed to have entered the hotel around 0700 GMT at the same time as a car with diplomatic plates, with many guests still in their rooms.



A Belgian regional assembly official, in Mali for a convention, was among those killed, the parliament said.



India said 20 of its nationals were among the hostages while Xinhua said at least seven Chinese were involved.



Twelve Air France employees were in a "safe place", the company announced, while seven Turkish Airlines crew members were freed.



Seven Algerians and two Germans were also freed while the status of four Belgian guests remains unclear.



Malian soldiers, police and special forces were at the scene as a security perimeter was set up, along with members of the UN's MINUSMA peacekeeping force in Mali and the French troops fighting jihadists in west Africa under Operation Barkhane.


Mali hotel gunmen 'holding no more hostages': security minister

BAMAKO: Gunmen who stormed a luxury hotel in Mali's capital Friday and seized more than 100 guests and staff no longer have any hostages after a rescue operation by special forces, the government said.
"They currently have no more hostages in their hands and forces are in the process of tracking them down," security minister Salif Traore told a news conference following a stand-off of several hours at Bamako's Radisson Blu.


Eighteen bodies recovered from Mali hotel siege: foreign security source

BAMAKO: The bodies of 18 people were recovered as special forces stormed a hotel in Mali's capital seized by gunmen on Friday, a foreign security source told AFP.


"Eighteen bodies were found," the source told AFP on condition of anonymity, adding that French special forces from neighbouring Burkina Faso were in the hotel and "participating in operations alongside Malians".


US special forces assist in Mali hotel hostage recovery

WASHINGTON: US special forces were helping in the effort to rescue hostages after gunmen stormed a luxury hotel in the Malian capital on Friday, a Pentagon spokeswoman said.



The State Department said American citizens could be among the hostages in the siege, which comes exactly a week after the deadly jihadist rampage in Paris.



"Special Operations Command Forward-North and West Africa personnel are currently assisting hostage recovery efforts at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Bamako," Lieutenant Colonel Michelle Baldanza said.



"US forces have helped move civilians to secured locations, as Malian forces clear the hotel of hostile gunmen."


Elite French unit heads to Mali amid hostage crisis: ministry

PARIS: An elite French unit of paramilitary police specialised in hostage situations left for Mali on Friday where suspected jihadists stormed an upmarket hotel, the interior ministry said.



Around 40 paramilitary police from the GIGN unit were on their way to assist Malian security forces dealing with a hostage situation at the Radisson Blu hotel, said a ministry spokesman.



The Twitter account of the paramilitary police posted a black-and-white image of the heavily-armed, black-clad troops upon their departure.


5 Turkish Airlines personnel released in Mali

A Turkish government official has confirmed that five Turkish Airlines personnel are among hostages that have been freed from a hotel in Mali that was stormed by armed gunmen throwing grenades.



The official said Friday that two Turkish Airlines flight attendants are still inside the hotel, however.



The official said the crew members that were released are a station chief, two pilots and two flight attendants.



It was not clear if they were released by the assailants or freed by the authorities. The official said he was not able to confirm media reports that the hostages were asked to read from Quran during the ordeal.


Special forces clearing Radisson hotel floor

Mali special forces clearing Radisson hotel floor by floor, sporadic gunfire heard - security source, witness.



Around 80 of 170 hostages seized when gunmen went on a shooting rampage at a luxury hotel in Mali's capital on Friday have been freed, local television reported.



"Radisson hotel attack: special forces launched an operation, first hostages released, about 80," the state-run ORTM channel said on a scrolling banner, without specifying the source of the information.



"Our special forces have freed hostages and 30 others were able to escape on their own," Security Minister Salif Traore told AFP.


Malian special forces enter hotel attacked by Islamist gunmen

Malian special forces entered the Radisson Blu in the capital Bamako on Friday after Islamist gunmen attacked the luxury hotel and took hostages, a witness and a police source said.



"They've penetrated inside the hotel. The operations are under way," the police source said.


New Delhi says 20 Indians held hostage in Mali hotel siege

NEW DELHI: Twenty Indian nationals are among the hostages being held at the luxury Radisson Blu hotel in Mali's capital Bamako, an Indian foreign ministry spokesman said Friday.



"Our ambassador has confirmed that 20 Indians are held hostage at the hotel but they are alive," Vikas Swarup told AFP. The foreign ministry spokesman said on Twitter that the Indian ambassador to Mali was "continuously in touch" with the hostages and monitoring the situation.


At least seven Chinese hostages in Mali siege: Xinhua

BEIJING: At least seven Chinese tourists are among the hostages at a hotel in Mali's capital Bamako, China's official Xinhua news agency reported Friday.



Xinhua said it was in communication with a Chinese hostage, a tourist identified only by his surname Chen, at the Radisson Blu hotel where it said "about 10" gunmen had taken 170 people captive.



Contacted by AFP, an official at the Chinese embassy in the city, surnamed Wang, put the number of Chinese hostages at eight, adding: "We are still trying to verify the exact number."



The siege comes only two days after the Islamic State group published graphic pictures of a murdered Chinese hostage, Fan Jinghui.


Six Turkish Airlines staff trapped in Mali hotel: official

ANKARA: Six Turkish Airlines personnel were among those trapped in the Radisson Blu hotel in Mali's capital Bamako where 170 people were taken hostage on Friday, a Turkish official said.



"We have confirmed that there are six personnel from Turkish Airlines" in the hotel, the official told AFP. A spokesman for the country's flag-carrier airline THY declined to comment when contacted by AFP.


At least three hostages killed in Bamako hotel siege: ministry

At least three hostages were killed Friday as terrorists besieged a luxury hotel in the capital Bamako, the country's security ministry said, adding that security forces were now storming the establishment.


Mali President cuts short Chad trip after Bamako attack

BAMAKO: Mali President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita cut short a trip to a regional summit in Chad on Friday after gunmen stormed a luxury hotel in the capital, Bamako, and took 170 people hostage, the presidency said.





In this image made available by Malikahere.com security personnel. bottom right, attend close to the scene of an attack on a hotel in Bamako, Mali Friday Nov. 20, 2015.(AP)


Gunmen seize 170 hostages in Mali capital

Bamako: The company that runs the Radisson Blu Hotel in Mali's capital says assailants have taken 170 hostages in a brazen assault involving grenades.


The Brussels-based Rezidor Hotel group said the assailants had "locked in" 140 guests and 30 employees.


Malian army commander Modibo Nama Traore said 10 gunmen stormed the hotel Friday morning shouting "Allahu Akbar" before firing on the guards and taking hostages.



The US and French embassies asked their citizens to take shelter where they are in Bamako.



Following a military coup in 2012, Islamic extremists took control of northern Mali, prompting a French-led military intervention in early 2013. The extremists were scattered from northern towns and cities, though the north remains insecure and militant attacks have extended south this year.


Attacks despite peace deal

The shooting at the Radisson 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.



Islamist groups have continued to wage attacks in Mali despite a June peace deal between former Tuareg rebels in the north of the country and rival pro-government armed groups.