A group of Islamic gunmen stormed Radisson Blu hotel in Bamako, Mali resulting to 27 people dead, including five attackers as Friday night fell.
French and US military forces assisted Malian soldiers as they shot their way into the hotel siege. On the top floor of the seven- story Radisson Blu Hotel are five gunmen with over 170 hostages held captive, according to a report by CNN.
The shooting went on until late afternoon as various death tolls were reported during the day. In a statement by French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, 19 people died which includes 18 in the hotel and one Malian soldier during the shootout. While spokesman Olivier Salgado for the UN peacekeeping mission in Mali, declared the death toll at 21.
In a report by ORTM, Health Minister Marie Madeleine Togo said "at least six people injured in the attack have been hospitalized."
The attackers allegedly belonged to Islamist militant group, Al Mourabitoun. The group claimed they were jointly responsible for the attack along with infamous Islamic militant organization al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) according to Al Akhbar news agency. In addition, "the attack was carried out in retaliation for government aggression in northern Mali while the group demanded release of prisoners in France."
Speculations point to Algerian jihadist and militant group leader, Mokhtar Belmokhtar, as the main person behind the siege.
According to Libyan officials, Belmokhtar was killed during a U.S. airstrike in Libya last June. However, his death was never confirmed publicly by U.S. officials.
Mali has been closely compared to Syria as it was once the focus of French counterterrorism attention. Over the years, it has become even more of a dangerous nation. Attacks on U.N. personnel has made it United Nations' deadliest peacekeeping mission.
"I've already told our people, without scaring them, that they should just get a little bit used to this... nobody, nowhere is safe." Mali president Ibrahim Boubacar Keita said Friday.
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