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MALIAN troops stormed the Radisson Blu hotel in the capital Bamako yesterday after Islamists attacked with grenades, killing three people and taking 170 hostages.
Malian army commander Colonel Modibo Nama Traore said that 10 gunmen had stormed the hotel shouting: “Allahu Akbar,” the Arabic for “God is great,” before firing at security guards.
Troops responded quickly to the morning assault, freeing hostages “floor by floor” until, by 5pm, Malian TV reported that no more hostages were being held.
Broadcaster ORTM reported security officials’ estimate that 18 bodies had been removed from the hotel, while the UN put the number at 12.
Gunfire continued into the late afternoon and Col Traore said that operations were continuing.
Al-Mourabitoun, an extremist group which has pledged allegiance to Islamic State (Isis), claimed to have carried out the attack, as did al-Qaida in the Maghreb, but there was no official confirmation.
Col Traore added that at least one guest had reported that the attackers instructed him to recite verses from the Koran before he was allowed to leave the hotel.
Brussels-based hotel owner Rezidor said that, hours after the assault began, 125 guests and 13 employees remained in the building.
Colonel Mark Cheadle of the US Army’s Africa Command said that US special forces were assisting the Malian army.
Another US official said that six US citizens had been evacuated from the hotel.
France’s national gendarme service sent around 40 French special police in a support role and the Defence Ministry said that French soldiers had arrived in Bamako to support Malian forces.
The UN mission said it was sending security reinforcements and medical aid.
France only recently sent troops to Mali following a guerilla uprising in the country’s north against the government. The conflict grew out of the Nato-led war on Libya that overthrew the legitimate government and left much of the country in the hands of Islamists.
“We should yet again stand firm and show our solidarity with a friendly country, Mali,” said French President Francois Hollande.