Three killed as 80 hostages freed in Mali hotel attack

[greybeard]

t least three people have been killed as gunmen throwing grenades seized dozens of hostages at a luxury hotel in the Mali capital.

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https://uk.news.yahoo.com/gunmen-take-170-hostages-in-mali-hotel-attack-110215066.html?cmp=fp#s9tA4o7

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Eighty of the 153 people taken hostage by Islamic extremists at a luxury hotel in Mali have now been freed in an operation by special forces, state television has said.

Malian army commander, Modibo Nama Traore, said troops were moving "floor by floor" freeing hostages.

One of those freed, a singer from Guinea, said he heard attackers in the next room speaking English.

"I heard them say in English 'Did you load it?', 'Let's go'," Sékouba 'Bambino' Diabate told Reuters.

He added: "I wasn't able to see them because in these kinds of situations it's hard."

Around 10 men armed with guns and grenades stormed the Radisson Blu hotel in the capital Bamako at around 7am.

They were shouting and screaming "Allahu Akbar", which means "God Is great" in Arabic.

The hotel's head of security said they arrived aboard a vehicle 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, previously 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.

Two women who were among those freed told an AFP journalist they had seen the body of a fair-skinned man lying on the floor of the hotel.

Turkish Airlines said seven of its staff were among the hostages, but five including two pilots had managed to escape.

Air France said it had 12 crew in the hotel but all were safely "extracted". As a precaution it has cancelled Friday's flights to and from Bamako.

The hostages also include 20 Indian and seven Chinese.nationals.

The owners of the hotel, which attracts many foreign visitors, originally said 140 guests and 30 employees had been "locked in" by two raiders.

They have since revised the figure to 13 employees, making the total number of hostages 153.

"The Rezidor Hotel Group... is aware of the hostage-taking that is ongoing at the property today, 20th November 2015," the company said in a statement.

It added: "Our safety and security teams and our corporate team are in constant contact with the local authorities in order to offer any support possible to reinstate safety and security at the hotel."

The US and French embassies have asked their citizens in Bamako to take shelter, and Mali's President has cut short a visit to Chad where he was attending a regional summit.

A spokesman for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office said it was "in contact with local authorities and urgently seeking further information".

It was not immediately clear which Muslim extremist groups might be behind the attack, which came a week after the Paris massacre in which 129 peoplde were killed.

Following a military coup in 2012, Islamic extremists took control of northern Mali, prompting a French-led military intervention the following year.

The extremists were driven from northern towns and cities, but the north remains insecure and militant attacks have extended farther south this year.

In March masked gunmen opened fire on a Bamako restaurant popular with foreigners, killing five people.

About 1,000 French troops remain in the country.


https://uk.news.yahoo.com/gunmen-attack-hotel-mali-hostages-091144432.html#0H7bk99

[Sunny-side-up]

One of those freed, a singer from Guinea, said he heard attackers in the next room speaking English.
Many people around the world speak English, I wonder what this guys accent was though?

[greybeard]

This is still on going without further news at the moment.
Chris

[Carmody]

Still banging on a publicity tin-can/pot...... over the the euro-pivot positioned country of France, as we can see. Seemingly more 'monkey in the middle (http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=monkey+in+the+middle)' pressure on France (and to be specific-the french population) from the elite warring factions.

From Wikipedia:


Mali consists of eight regions and its borders on the north reach deep into the middle of the Sahara Desert, while the country's southern part, where the majority of inhabitants live, features the Niger and Senegal rivers. The country's economic structure centers on agriculture and fishing. Some of Mali's prominent natural resources include gold, being the third largest producer of gold in the African continent,[7] and salt. About half the population lives below the international poverty line of $1.25 (U.S.) a day.[8] A majority of the population (55%) are non-denominational Muslims.[9]

Present-day Mali was once part of three West African empires that controlled trans-Saharan trade: the Ghana Empire, the Mali Empire (for which Mali is named), and the Songhai Empire. During its golden age, there was a flourishing of mathematics, astronomy, literature, and art.[10][11] At its peak in 1300, the Mali Empire covered an area about twice the size of modern-day France and stretched to the west coast of Africa.[12] In the late 19th century, during the Scramble for Africa, France seized control of Mali, making it a part of French Sudan. French Sudan (then known as the Sudanese Republic) joined with Senegal in 1959, achieving independence in 1960 as the Mali Federation. Shortly thereafter, following Senegal's withdrawal from the federation, the Sudanese Republic declared itself the independent Republic of Mali. After a long period of one-party rule, a coup in 1991 led to the writing of a new constitution and the establishment of Mali as a democratic, multi-party state. Significant portions of its legislation are derived from Islamic sharia law.

In January, 2012, an armed conflict broke out in northern Mali, which Tuareg rebels took control of by April and declared the secession of a new state, Azawad.[13] The conflict was complicated by a military coup that took place in March[14] and later fighting between Tuareg and Islamist rebels. In response to Islamist territorial gains, the French military launched Opération Serval in January, 2013.[15] A month later, Malian and French forces recaptured most of the north. Presidential elections were held on 28 July 2013, with a second round run-off held on 11 August, and legislative elections were held on 24 November and 15 December 2013.

[Hervé]

Over 20 reported dead in Mali hotel siege Live updates (https://www.rt.com/news/322818-mali-hotel-hostage-siege/)

Published time: 20 Nov, 2015 10:53
Edited time: 20 Nov, 2015 16:58

https://cdn.rt.com/files/2015.11/original/564f043bc46188ff198b456b.jpg
Malian troops take position outside the Radisson Blu hotel in Bamako on November 20, 2015 © Habibou Kouyate / AFP


More than 20 people have reportedly been killed as armed gunman stormed a luxury hotel in Bamako, Mali on Friday morning. The attackers held 170 people hostage in Radisson Blu hotel, while it is reported that there are no more civilians in the hotel.

20 November 2015

16:58 GMT A group of Islamist gunmen involved in the attack continue to hold out against security forces, a security ministry spokesman told Reuters.
"The attackers no longer have hostages. They are dug in in the upper floors. They are alone with the Malian special forces who are trying to dislodge them," spokesman Amadou Sangho said.



16:50 GMT Mali special forces are still trying to dislodge Islamist gunmen from the upper floors of the hotel, a security ministry spokesman told Reuters.



16:44 GMT Twenty-two US Defense Department military and civilian personnel have been accounted for in Bamako and have no injuries, according to the Pentagon.



16:43 GMT Scenes from the streets of Bamako following the hotel siege.


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16:20 GMT The CEO of Rezidor, the company that owns the Radisson, has released a statement.
"I want to express my deep personal concern for all of the guests and employees affected by the terrible events which are happening today at the Radisson Blu Bamako Hotel in Mali," Wolfgang M. Neumann said.
"I speak on behalf of the entire Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group in extending our deep sympathy to the families, colleagues and friends of all those touched by today's events."



16:17 GMT A Belgian regional assembly official was among those killed at the hotel, according to the country's parliament.
“Mr. [Geoffrey] Dieudonne, with other foreign colleagues, was in Mali to give a seminar for Malian parliamentarians,” the Brussels-based parliament said, as quoted by AFP.
“At this stage the exact circumstances of his tragic death are not yet known.”



16:14 GMT UN peacekeepers at the Mali hotel saw some 27 bodies, a UN official told Reuters on condition of anonymity.
Twelve corpses were seen in the basement of the hotel and another 15 on the second floor. He added that UN troops are still helping Malian authorities search the hotel.



16:00 GMT All the remaining hostages at the Radisson Blu hotel are now safe, according to ministerial adviser Amadou Sangho, who told French television station BFMTV.
"These people have been taken under the wing of the civil authorities," he said.



15:45 GMT AFP, citing a security minister, are reporting that the hostage situation is over at the Radisson Blu hotel as the gunmen are no longer holding any more civilians.



France 24 news (English): http://www.france24.com/en/livefeed

[greybeard]

At Least 27 Bodies At Mali Hostage Hotel
Sky NewsSky News – 37 minutes ago

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/gunmen-attack-hotel-mali-hostages-091144432.html?vp=1#0H7bk99

At least 27 people are feared dead after Islamist extremists with guns and grenades stormed a luxury hotel in Mali.

UN peacekeepers say they saw at least 27 bodies in the Radisson Blu hotel in the capital Bamako.

Wounded civilians were this evening being evacuated from the hotel, popular with airline staff, Western tourists and local dignitaries.

Some of the gunmen remain dug in on the upper floors of the hotel but they are no longer believed to be holding hostages.

State television showed footage of troops in camouflage fatigues wielding AK47s in the lobby of the hotel, one of the country's smartest.

In the background, a body lay under a brown blanket at the bottom of a flight of stairs.

Around 10 men armed with guns and grenades entered the hotel at around 7am local time.

They were shouting and screaming "Allahu Akbar", which means "God Is great" in Arabic.

Witnesses reported seeing some of the men approach the hotel in a car, wearing dark suits and sunglasses.

They opened fire on security guards before raiding the building.

More than 150 people were originally taken hostage by the attackers.

The Malian forces moved "floor by floor" rescuing people, assisted by elite US and French troops, witnesses said.

Among the dead are thought to be a Belgian local government official, according to a source.

Geoffrey Dieudonne had been in Mali for a convention, a parliament spokesman told Belga news agency.

Two security guards have been injured in the assault.

At least two gunmen are among the dead, a Malian military source said.

One of the freed hostages, a singer from Guinea, said he heard attackers in the next room speaking English.

"I heard them say in English 'Did you load it?', 'Let's go'," Sékouba 'Bambino' Diabate told Reuters.

Al Mourabitoun, an African Jihadist group affiliated with al Qaeda, has claimed responsibility for the attack.

The Radisson Blu's head of security said the attackers arrived in a large vehicle and forced their way through a security barrier.

A security source said 20 hostages were released by the gunmen after being made to recite verses from the Koran.

Two women told an AFP journalist they had seen the body of a fair-skinned man lying on the floor of the hotel.

Turkish Airlines said seven of its staff were among the hostages, but five including two pilots had managed to escape.

Air France said it had 12 crew in the hotel but all were safely "extracted". As a precaution it has cancelled Friday's flights to and from Bamako.

The hostages also include 20 Indians, seven Algerians, six Americans and two Germans who have all been rescued along with three of 10 Chinese nationals.

The owners of the hotel, which attracts many foreign visitors, originally said 140 guests and 30 employees had been "locked in" by two raiders.

The Rezidor Hotel Group have since revised the figure to 13 employees, making the total number of hostages 153.

The US and French embassies have asked their citizens in Bamako to take shelter.

Mali's President has cut short a visit to Chad where he was attending a regional summit.

President Francois Hollande has said France will "yet again stand firm and show our solidarity" with its former colony.

It is to send extra troops to boost the 1,000 who remain there.

The attack comes a week after the Paris massacre in which 130 people were killed .

[Rocky_Shorz]

https://prod01-cdn06.cdn.firstlook.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/1/2015/11/africom.jpg

In Mali and Rest of Africa, the U.S. Military Fights a Hidden War

THE GENERAL LEADING the U.S. military’s hidden war in Africa says the continent is now home to nearly 50 terrorist organizations and “illicit groups” that threaten U.S. interests. And today, gunmen reportedly yelling “Allahu Akbar” stormed the Radisson Blu hotel in Mali’s capital and seized several dozen hostages. U.S. special operations forces are “currently assisting hostage recovery efforts,” a Pentagon spokesperson said, and U.S. personnel have “helped move civilians to secured locations, as Malian forces clear the hotel of hostile gunmen.”

In Mali, groups like Ansar Dine and the Movement for Unity and Jihad in West Africa have long posed a threat. Major terrorist groups in Africa include al Shabaab, Boko Haram and al Qaeda in the Islamic Magreb (AQIM). In the wake of the Paris attacks by ISIS, attention has been drawn to ISIS affiliates in Egypt and Libya, too. But what are the dozens of other groups in Africa that the Pentagon is fighting with more special operations forces, more outposts, and more missions than ever?

For the most part, the Pentagon won’t say.

Brigadier General Donald Bolduc, chief of U.S. Special Operations Command Africa, made a little-noticed comment earlier this month about these terror groups. After describing ISIS as a transnational and transregional threat, he went on to tell the audience of the Defense One Summit, “Although ISIS is a concern, so is al Shabaab, so is the Lord’s Resistance Army in Central Africa and the 43 other illicit groups that operate in the area … Boko Haram, AQIM, and other small groups in that area.”

Bolduc mentioned only a handful of terror groups by name, so I asked for clarification from the Department of Defense, Africa Command (AFRICOM), and Special Operations Command Africa (SOCAFRICA). None offered any names, let alone a complete accounting. SOCAFRICA did not respond to multiple queries by The Intercept. AFRICOM spokesman Lt. Cmdr. Anthony Falvo would only state, “I have nothing further for you.”

While the State Department maintains a list of foreign terrorist organizations (FTOs), including 10 operating in Africa (ISIS, Boko Haram, Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis, al Shabaab, AQIM, Ansaru, Ansar al-Din, Ansar al-Shari’a in Tunisia, as well as Libya’s Ansar al-Shari’a in Benghazi and Ansar al-Shari’a in Darnah), it “does not provide the DoD any legal or policy approval,” according to Lt. Col. Michelle Baldanza, a Defense Department spokesperson.

“The DoD does not maintain a separate or similar list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations for the government,” she said in an email to The Intercept. “In general, not all groups of armed individuals on the African continent that potentially present a threat to U.S. interests would be subject to FTO. DoD works closely with the Intel Community, Inter-Agency, and the [National Security Council] to continuously monitor threats to U.S. interests; and when required, identifies, tracks, and presents options to mitigate threats to U.S. persons overseas.”

This isn’t the first time the Defense Department has been unable or unwilling to name the groups it’s fighting. In 2013, The Intercept’s Cora Currier, then writing for ProPublica, asked for a full list of America’s war-on-terror enemies and was told by a Pentagon spokesman that public disclosure of the names could increase the prestige and recruitment prowess of the groups and do “serious damage to national security.” Jack Goldsmith, a professor at Harvard Law School who served as a legal counsel during the George W. Bush administration, told Currier that the Pentagon’s rationale was weak and there was a “very important interest in the public knowing who the government is fighting against in its name.”

The secret of whom the U.S. military is fighting extends to Africa. Since 9/11, U.S. military efforts on the continent have grown in every conceivable way, from funding and manpower to missions and outposts, while at the same time the number of transnational terror groups has increased in linear fashion, according to the military. The reasons for this are murky. Is it a spillover from events in the Middle East and Central Asia? Are U.S. operations helping to spawn and spread terror groups? Is the Pentagon inflating the terror threat for its own gain? Is the rise of these terrorist organizations due to myriad local factors? Or more likely, is it a combination of these and other reasons? The task of answering these questions is made more difficult when no one in the military is willing to name more than a handful of the transnational terror groups that are classified as America’s enemies. link (https://theintercept.com/2015/11/20/in-mali-and-rest-of-africa-the-u-s-military-fights-a-hidden-war/)

[Rocky_Shorz]

from what I can tell this is no relations to what happened recently in France, it is from the battles going on in Lybia...

the French left Mali 30 years ago, isis is dumb, but not even they are that stupid... however reports on US news stations, must think Mali is an Island on the coast of France the way they are trying to tie it together.

creating fear porn for ratings...