Two gunmen, armed with grenades too, stormed a luxury hotel in Mali capital Bamako and took hostage at least 170 people including 20 Indians, as per media reports on Friday. Explosions and gunfire were heard at the US-owned Radisson Blu hotel in the capital Bamako early Thursday morning, a senior security source said.
Indian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup confirmed that 20 Indian nationals were among the hostages being held at the luxury hotel. “Our ambassador has confirmed that 20 Indians are held hostage at the hotel but they are alive,” AFP quoted him in media reports. The foreign ministry spokesman said on Twitter that the Indian ambassador to Mali was “continuously in touch” with the hostages and monitoring the situation.
Mali’s state broadcaster has said 80 hostages were freed as government special forces moved floor by floor to clear the building. “The attackers are still inside. We’re hearing gunfire from time to time,” said a witness outside the hotel. The gunmen were believed to be jihadists after then men shouted “Allahu Akbar”. They entered the hotel compound at around 0700 GMT in a car with diplomatic plates.
At least nine people have reportedly been killed, including foreigners, after ‘armed jihadists’ stormed the building, according to local media reports. Malian soldiers, police and special forces were on the scene as a security perimeter was set up, along with members of the UN’s MINUSMA peacekeeping force in Mali and the French troops fighting jihadists in west Africa under Operation Barkhane.
Automatic weapons fire could be heard from outside the 190-room hotel in the city-centre, where security forces have set up a security cordon.
