Special forces storm luxury hotel under attack in Mali

Special forces storm luxury hotel under attack in Mali

Commandos enter Radisson Blu Hotel with hostage situation under way in the capital Bamako.

AJ 20 Nov 2015

People run for cover from the Radisson Blu Hotel in Bamako on Friday [Reuters]

Correction: 20/11/2015: An earlier version reported that Nigerian Aliko Dangote had been in the hotel. That was incorrect. He is not in the hotel.

Malian, French and US special forces are engaged in a rescue operation at a five-star hotel in the Malian capital Bamako after gunmen stormed it and took at least 170 people hostage.

Mali's state broadcaster reported that 80 of the hostages had been released with commandos going floor to floor inside the Radisson Blu Hotel. Later, the company who owns the hotel said in a statement that 125 guests and 13 employees were still in the building.

Officials told the media that at least three people had been killed, and the employer of one Belgian local government official told Belga news agency that he had died in the attack.

US special forces helped in the rescue of at least six Americans, a military spokesman told reporters in Washington. Footage also showed French security forces at the scene and witnesses saw UN troops there also.

"The attackers are still inside. We're hearing gunfire from time to time," a witness outside the Radisson told the Reuters news agency.

Gunman shouting "Allahu Akbar", or "God is great", earlier on Friday opened fire outside the luxury hotel in the centre of the capital before rushing inside it.

Al-Mourabitoun, an Algeria-based radical group that has had ties to al-Qaeda, claimed responsibility for the attack later on Friday - a claim that has not yet been independently confirmed.

Reports said the attackers drove up to the hotel in vehicles bearing diplomatic licence plates, thereby gaining easy access.

"About 10 gunmen arrived early in the morning and shot all the guards in front of the Radisson," business owner Garba Konate told Al Jazeera.

Another witness said he helped a wounded guard to safety.

"I started hearing gunshots coming from the hotel," said Ibrahim, 28, who works at a cultural centre 40 metres away.

"Soon after I saw one of the guards running out, injured... The security guard told me the shooters were so quick that he doesn't even know how many came in," he told Al Jazeera.

Heavy gunfire could be heard from outside the 190-room hotel where security forces had set up a cordon.

A well-known Guinean singer who was in the hotel told Reuters he heard the gunmen speaking English.

"I heard them say in English 'Did you load it?', 'Let's go'," Sékouba 'Bambino' Diabate, who was freed by Malian security forces, said. "I wasn't able to see them because in these kinds of situations it's hard."

Idrissa Sangare, a local journalist at the scene, told Al Jazeera that UN officials were holding a function at the hotel.

"There are a lot of injured people inside the hotel, I'm being told - more than 40 people," he said.

Malian security forces evacuate two women from the area surrounding the Radisson Blu hotel on Friday [Habibou Kouyate/AFP]

Sangare said he saw more than a dozen hostages exiting the Radisson in groups of two and three. Some witnesses told the media that several hostages were released by the attackers after reciting verses from the Quran.

About 20 Indian nationals were inside, India's foreign ministry spokesman Vikas Swarup said in a tweet. And seven Chinese nationals were being held, state news agency Xinhua said.

Turkish Airlines staff were also among those captured. The company said in a statement that six crew members have been freed, but one employee remained inside the hotel, AP reported.

French nationals were also among those caught up in the siege, a source in the French president's office said. Air France tweeted that 12 crew members who were inside escaped and were safe.

Both the US and French embassies told their citizens to take cover and stay indoors.

 France in Mali: protection or control?

Armed groups have continued to wage attacks in Mali despite a June peace deal between former Tuareg rebels in the north of the country and rival pro-government armed groups.

Northern Mali fell in March-April 2012 to al-Qaeda-linked groups long active in the area, before being taken by a French-led military operation launched in January 2013.

Despite the peace deal, large swathes of the country remain beyond the control of government forces.