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Mali Attacks: Gunmen Took 170 Hostages In An American Hotel, Killed 27 People [Updated]

By Mohit Priyadarshi
Published on: 00:26 PST, Nov 20, 2015

Gunmen stormed into a U.S.-run Radisson Blu hotel in Mali’s capital Bamako today, taking at least 170 people hostages. Twenty seven people have been reported to be dead as of this writing, according to reports emerging from the West African nation.

The U.S. Rezidor Hotel Group, which owns the hotel, said in a statement earlier that “two persons have locked in 140 guests and 30 employees.” However, some reports suggest that as many as 10 gunmen might be involved in the Mali attacks.

Al-Mourabitoun, an African Jihadist group affiliated with al Qaida has claimed responsibility for the ongoing attack, according to Reuters.

Among the dead are one French national and two Malian nationals, said a UN official statement, without divulging more details about the attack.

The luxury hotel, which is popular with foreign businesses and airline crews, was locked out by attackers carrying AK-47s at about 7 a.m. local time (2 a.m. EST), reported Malian state TV ORTM. About 140 guests and 30 employees were present in the hotel at the time, with at least French, Indian, Turkish, and Chinese citizens present at the site of the attack. American authorities confirmed that there could have been American citizens in the hotel. It is also reported that at least three UN officials were among those staying at the hotel.

[Update] However, latest reports suggest that all the hostages have been freed, according to the Mali’s state broadcaster, while two attackers have also been gunned down, taking the death toll to 29.

Jonathan Bucks, one hostage who was freed when police and security officials stormed the building in an attempt to kill the attackers, spoke to France 24.

“The police and security forces helped us get out the building. There are still lots of people in there. I also saw bodies in the lobby, It was absolutely horrible.”

Another freed hostage said that he heard the gunmen who attacked Radisson Blu conversing in English.

According to Reuters, a few hostages who were able to recite verses of the Koran were being freed by the gunmen, including five members of a six-member Turkish Airlines crew, the company said.

Popular Guinean singer Sekouba Bambino was one of the guests who managed to get out of the hotel.

“I woke up with the sounds of gunshots and for me it sounded like small bandits. After 20 or 30 minutes, I realised these are not just petty criminals,” he said.

While there has been no immediate claim of responsibility, speculations are rife that Mali has been attacked because the country serves as a logistics hub for French forces helping in a fight against Islamist insurgents, according to the Washington Post.

France intervened in Mali, a former French colony, in January 2013, when al-Qaeda-linked militants threatened to march on Bamako after taking control of the north of the country.

In the aftermath of the Mali attacks, France’s Gendarmerie Nationale confirmed that special forces are on the way to the country.

French President François Holland released a statement saying the country is doing everything to free the hostages. Reports suggest that French and U.S. security services have been involved in an operation against the gunmen in the hotel.

“I want to assure all Malians of our solidarity and support for them and I urge all French nationals who are in the affected to be vigilant at this time.”

This is not the first time Mali has been under siege this year. In August, 12 people — including five Malian soldiers — were killed in a hostage situation and the ensuing attacks in a hotel in Sevare in central Mali, according to CNN.

[Updated]

[Image via ORTM/YouTube]

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