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Update: Mali commandoes end hotel seige, hostages freed, 22 people killed
State television in Mali has reported that no more hostages are being held at a luxury hotel after a day-long siege by Islamist militants.
National broadcaster ORTM, citing security officials, said 22 bodies were found at the hotel so far and that no more hostages were being held. Identities and nationalities of the dead were not immediately known.
Two gunmen were reported killed, Reuters said, citing an unnamed security source. A Security Ministry spokesman also said special forces are trying to dislodge the remaining gunmen from the upper floors of the hotel.
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 jihadist 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.
“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.
The palatial 190-room Radisson, attracts entrepreneurs, tourists and government officials from across the world with its luxury spa, outdoor pool and conference suites.
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 a correspondent saw a police officer, who had been shot, being evacuated by security forces.
The men are believed to have entered the hotel around 7 a.m local time (0200 EST), at the same time as a car with diplomatic plates, with many guests still in their rooms.
Malian soldiers, police and special forces were at the scene as a security perimeter was set up.
Mali’s President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, who was in Chad for a summit of regional leaders, cut short his trip to fly home.
Islamist groups have waged attacks in Mali despite a June peace deal between elements of the Tuareg separatist movement in the north and rival pro-government armed groups. The north fell under the control of jihadist groups linked to al-Qaeda in mid-2012.
Source: Agencies