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Via Sky News:
At least three people are dead after Islamic extremists stormed a luxury hotel in Mali and took 170 people hostage.
Around 10 men armed with guns and grenades entered the Radisson Blu in the capital Bamako, shooting and screaming “Allahu Akbar”, which means “God Is great” in Arabic.
The head of security said they arrived aboard a vehicle around 7am local time and forced their way through a security barrier.
A military official said at least three people have been killed. Two security guards were injured in the assault.
Malian security services, who have surrounded the hotel, said they had freed around a dozen hostages.
A security source said a further 20 were released by the gunmen after being made to recite verses from the Koran.
UPDATE: Religion of Peace™
UPDATE: John Kerry unavailable for comment.
Al Qaeda-linked jihadists claimed responsibility for an ongoing and deadly hostage-taking at a hotel in Mali’s capital Friday, as Malian special forces worked to free at least 90 people who were still inside.
Malian army commander Modibo Nama Traore told The Associated Press that at least one guest earlier reported that the attackers instructed him to recite verses from the Koran before he was allowed to leave the Radisson Blu hotel in Mali’s capital, Bamako. At least three people have died in the assault, according to another military official, Lt. Col. Diarran Kone.
Traore said Malian special forces have entered the hotel and are freeing hostages “floor by floor.” Hours after the attacks began, local TV images showed heavily armed troops in what appeared to be a lobby area. Some U.S. military personnel in Bamako are assisting with the rescue efforts, a defense official told Fox News.
Traore said 10 gunmen had stormed the hotel Friday morning shouting “Allahu Akbar,” or “God is great,” in Arabic before firing on the guards. A staffer at the hotel who gave his name as Tamba Diarra said over the phone that the attackers used grenades in the assault.
UPDATE:
Authorities are saying the hostage situation is over.
Via Daily Mail:
Armed jihadists have killed at least 18 people in a deadly shooting rampage after taking 170 hostages at the Radisson Blu hotel in Bamako, Mali.
Automatic weapons fire was heard on the seventh floor of the 190-room hotel, where it was thought as many as 10 militants roamed through the building, looking for guests and members of staff. All the remaining hostages have since been freed after special forces raided the building.
Among the victims were Belgian diplomat Geoffrey Dieudonne and a French national, with the initial death toll likely to rise.
Six American nationals were rescued alive but several other American remain among the 125 guests and 13 employees, who were unaccounted for after they trapped inside the besieged hotel after the raid.
Three of the gunmen have been killed and the remaining terrorists have been seen heading to the roof as a rescue team, led by US Special Forces, made their way through the building. The al-Qaeda affiliated group Al-Mourabitoun, based in northern Mali, have claimed responsibility for the attack.