Mali hotel attack: Special forces storm building after three killed in armed siege

MALIAN special forces have entered a luxury hotel seized by gunman and are freeing hostages “floor by floor”, according to a military spokesman.

Army commander Modibo Nama Traore said at least 30 hostages had been freed from the Radisson Blu Hotel in Bamako and security forces are trying to make contact with the assailants.

At least three people were killed as gunmen throwing grenades seized dozens of hostages in the Mali capital.

The attackers initially seized about 170 hostages, but Mr Traore said about 20 had been released before troops launched the raid.

It was not immediately clear why the group was freed or how many remained held by the militants, but Mr Traore said at least one guest reported that the attackers instructed him to recite verses from the Koran before he was allowed to leave the hotel.

He said 10 gunmen stormed the hotel shouting “Allahu Akbar” – “God is great” in Arabic – before firing on the guards and taking hostages.

France’s national security service said about 50 elite police troops are en route from Paris to Bamako.

A spokesman for the service said they are heading from two different units of special police forces trained for emergency situations.

French President Francois Hollande said France is ready to help Mali with all means necessary.

He urged all French citizens in Mali to make contact with the French embassy “in order that everything is made to offer them protection”.

Mali’s President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita has cut short his trip to Chad where he was attending a meeting of regional leaders.

The Mali presidency said on Twitter that Mr Keita will be back to Bamako “in the next hours”.At least three killed as gunmen hold 170 hostages after storming hotel in Mali – read moreMr Hollande said: “We should yet again stand firm and show our solidarity witha friendly country, Mali.”

The US embassy in Mali told citizens to shelter in place amid reports of an “ongoing active shooter operation” at the hotel.

An official with the French presidency said French citizens were in the hotel but could not give more details.

Belgian foreign minister Didier Reynders said four Belgians were registered at the hotel but their whereabouts were unknown.

Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reported that about 10 Chinese citizens were sheltering inside their hotel rooms. The embassy was in phone contact with them and all were reported safe, according to the report. All are employees of Chinese companies working in Mali.

Five Turkish Airlines personnel were among the freed hostages, Turkey’s state-run news agency said.

The website of the official China Daily newspaper also cited an unidentified witness as saying one Chinese citizen had been rescued.

The UN mission said it was sending security reinforcements and medical aid to the scene.

It was not immediately clear which Muslim extremist group was behind the attack, which unfolded a week after the attacks on Paris that killed 129 people. A handful of jihadi groups seized the northern half of Mali – a former French colony – in 2012 and were ousted from cities and towns by a French military intervention.

Even after the extremists were forced out, the north remains insecure and militant attacks have extended further south this year, including the capital. In March masked gunmen shot up a restaurant in Bamako that is popular with foreigners, killing five people.

About 1,000 French troops remain in the country. The Netherlands also has troops working with the UN mission in Mali. According to the Dutch defence ministry, 450 Dutch military personnel are taking part in the mission along with four Apache and three Chinook helicopters. Most of the Dutch force is based in Gao, but there are a few officers at the UN mission headquarters in Bamako.