80 hostages freed as special forces storm Mali hotel
BAMAKO, November 20, 2015
Eighty hostages held by Islamist gunmen have been freed from a luxury hotel in Mali's capital as government special forces moved floor by floor to clear the building, Mali's state broadcaster and a security source.
"The attackers are still inside. We're hearing gunfire from time to time," said a witness outside the Radisson Blu hotel.
Gunmen shooting and shouting Islamist slogans burst into the hotel and were reported to have been moving floor by floor, arriving at the seventh floor, a senior Malian security source said.
The source said at least two private security guards had been injured.
Six Turkish Airlines staff members are among those in the luxury, a Turkish government official said.
"There are six Turkish Airlines personnel in the hotel," the official told Reuters.
French nationals are among those held in the siege, a source close to French President Francois Hollande said.
"We are still awaiting more precise information that's been checked out. French people are present. The president is following the situation closely," the presidential source said.
Separately, a diplomatic source said that Malian special forces were at the scene and that France was providing logistical and intelligence support.
Gunmen shouting Islamic slogans attacked the hotel where many foreigners were staying early Friday morning, taking 170 people hostage, a senior security source and the hotel's operator said.
The diplomatic source spoke of two or three attackers.
Meanwhile, The Rezidor Hotel Group, operator of the Radisson Blu Hotel Bamako/Mali has said two persons have locked in 140 guests and 30 employees. - Reuters
