At least three killed in Mali hostage situation
- 8 years ago
Gunmen shouting Islamic slogans attacked a luxury hotel full of foreigners in Mali's capital Bamako early on Friday morning, taking 170 people hostage, a senior security source and the hotel's operator said.
Malian special forces have arrived at the hotel, with France providing logistical and intelligence support.
The raid on the Radisson Blu hotel, which lies just west of the city centre near government ministries and diplomatic offices in the former French colony, comes a week after Islamic State militants killed 129 people in Paris.
Security sources have said that the gunmen released some hostages, including those able to recite verses from the Quran.
An Islamist group claimed responsibility for the death of five people last March in an attack on a restaurant in Bamako that is popular with foreigners.
Malian special forces have arrived at the hotel, with France providing logistical and intelligence support.
The raid on the Radisson Blu hotel, which lies just west of the city centre near government ministries and diplomatic offices in the former French colony, comes a week after Islamic State militants killed 129 people in Paris.
Security sources have said that the gunmen released some hostages, including those able to recite verses from the Quran.
An Islamist group claimed responsibility for the death of five people last March in an attack on a restaurant in Bamako that is popular with foreigners.