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Mali
trooper assist a hostage, centre, to leave the scene, from the Radisson Blu
hotel to safety after gunmen attacked the hotel in Bamako, Mali, Friday, Nov.
20, 2015. (AP Photo/Harouna Traore)
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Islamic extremists armed
with guns and grenades stormed the Radisson hotel in Mali's capital Friday, and
security forces swarmed in to free guests floor by floor. As evening fell,
officials said no more hostages were being held and that at least 19 people had
been killed. U.S. and French special operations forces assisted Malian troops
in responding to the attack by an unknown number of gunmen. Shooting continued
into the late afternoon, and a U.N. official said two attackers were dead.
An
extremist group led by former al-Qaida commander Moktar Belmoktar claimed
responsibility for the siege at the Radisson Blu hotel in the former French
colony, and many in France saw it as a new assault on their country's interests
a week after the Paris attacks.
