Mali: Commandos move on hotel seized by suspected Islamist extremists, 80 hostages freed

Malian commandos stormed a luxury hotel in Bamako on Friday after Islamist gunmen took 170 people in the capital Bamako.

Islamist extremists armed with guns and throwing grenades had earlier stormed the hotel, Friday morning, killing at least 3 people and initially taking numerous hostages, authorities said.

Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita has cut short a trip to a regional summit in Chad to return to Bamako.

The commandos reacted quickly. As people ran for their lives near the hotel, the soldiers in full combat gear pointed the way to safety. Within hours, local TV images showed heavily armed troops in what appeared to be a lobby area.

Mali state television reported that 80 people who were in the hotel in Bamako when the assault began have now been freed.

According to the country’s Minister of Internal Security, Colonel Salif Traoré, three people had been killed and two wounded by the gunmen, who burst through security at the hotel entrance at 7 a.m local time (0200 ESTT), spraying the area with gunfire and shouting “Allahu Akbar”, or “God is great” in Arabic.

Malian special forces were freeing hostages “floor by floor,” Malian army commander Modibo Nama Traore told reporters. Still, the hotel group put out a new statement saying 125 guests and 13 employees were still in the hotel.

One of the rescued hostages, celebrated Guinean singer Sékouba ‘Bambino’ Diabate, said he had overheard two of the assailants speaking in English as they searched the room next to his.

The raid on the hotel, which lies just west of the city center near government ministries and diplomatic offices, came a week after Islamic State militants killed 129 people in Paris.

The identity of the Bamako gunmen, or the group to which they belong, is not known.

Source: Agencies