Mali hotel attack: Day-long terror siege ends leaving 27 dead, US reports

Islamist group al-Mourabitoun, which briefly pledged its loyalty to Isis this year, claim responsibility for the Bamako raid

The lobby of the Radisson Blu hotel following the siege (Reuters)

The terroist attack on the Radisson Blu hotel in Bamako, Mali, that turned into a day-long siege ended tonight, US officials reported, with at least 27 dead during the ordeal. A senior US State Department official also stated that one US citizen was killed in the attack.

The attack had started early on Friday morning with jihadi gunmen screaming “Allahu Akbar” and wielding AK47s and grenades, as they struck the Western hotel used by business people, diplomats and airline crews.

Gunmen continued to hold out against special forces on the top floors of the seven-storey building long after the surviving hostages were freed.

It was still unclear how many had taken part in the raid that began just after 7am. Initial reports suggested that 10 attackers were involved. Malian state television reported that 76 hostages, some of them injured.

The attack was the latest in a growing list on soft civilian targets around the world that lack the security to withstand determined terrorists prepared to die. It came within a week of last Friday’s deadly strikes on central Paris, which left 130 dead, and gives further currency to the fear that it is almost impossible to guard against such incidents. There was speculation that killings and the atrocity in Paris could be linked. “It would not be surprising if local groups had been inspired by the Paris attacks and that prompted them to act now,” said Paul Melly, an associate fellow at Chatham House’s Africa programme. “It is possible that they believed now was the time to make a public statement.”

US Soldiers leave the hotel, after assisting Mali soldiers during the attack (AP)

The Islamist group al-Mourabitoun, which earlier this year briefly pledged its loyalty to Isis before rescinding the alliance, claimed responsibility for the Bamako raid. Led by the bearded Mokhtar Belmokhtar, it has led a string of terror attacks in North Africa, including the strike and subsequent hostage crisis at the Amenas gas plant in Algeria in January 2013, in which 39 people died.

Al-Mourabitoun is linked to al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, and said that the two groups had carried out the raid together in retaliation for “the oppression of the people of northern Mali”.

The attack began soon after daybreak when at least two terrorists managed to get into the hotel lobby, reportedly killing the two security guards stationed at the entrance. The attackers are understood to have shouted “Allahu Akbar”, or God is great, as they entered the hotel, and then moved from floor to floor, taking guests and staff hostage. Those that managed to escape said that the militants had freed people able to recite Koranic verses.

Bullet holes are seen at a staircase of the Radisson hotel (Reuters)

Speaking to The Independent from Bamako, Carlos Lumu, an eyewitness to the attacks, said that the raid began with a volley of gunfire. “I’m near the hotel. I’m following the events because my girlfriend works there,” he said. “In the morning I heard a lot of gunfire, lots and lots of shots, but no explosions. I saw two people injured, being carried to the ambulances and to the hospital. The streets are empty now. There is no one on the streets.”

A celebrated Guinean singer Sékouba “Bambino” Diabaté, who escaped, said he overheard two of the assailants speaking in English, possibly with Nigerian accents, as they searched the room next to his. “We heard shots from the reception area. I didn’t dare go out of my room because it felt like this wasn’t just simple pistols. These were shots from military weapons,” Mr Diabaté told Reuters.

“The attackers went into the room next to mine. I stayed still, hidden under the bed, not making a noise,” he said. “I heard them say in English ‘Did you load it?’ ‘Let’s go’.”

There was confusion about how the attack had begun. The local UN force said that the assailants arrived in 4x4 vehicles with diplomatic number plates, while others said at least two attackers had stayed overnight in the hotel. Local media also reported that a vehicle filled with a “military arsenal” had been found near Bamako’s Sports Palace.

At first, the hotel, popular with foreigners because of its relative luxury and wi-fi, reported 140 guests and 30 staff unaccounted for. That figure was later revised downwards, while 80 people were freed during a special forces assault led by Malian troops but supported by US soldiers and possibly those from France.

Malian security forces evacuate a man (AFP)

Survivors gave an insight into the panic at the hotel. “I was inside. I saw the dead bodies in the hall. It is horrible what is happening inside the hotel,” one person who escaped told France24.

A host of nations, some of them Muslim, expressed concern about their nationals in residence – including a Turkish Airlines crew in residence, and at least seven Chinese booked to stay on Thursday night. The largest number of guests was French. A Belgian politician and at least one French national are believed to be among the dead.

France, along with American and Dutch forces, has been conducting military operations against up to five Islamist groups operating in Mali, a former French colony that fought off an Islamist insurgency with European assistance in 2013. France sent a further 50 members of its specialist counter-terrorism unit to West Africa. President François Hollande said: “We have to show our solidarity to a friendly country, Mali. Inside the hotel there are tourists and businessmen from all nationalities.” Washington also said that US soldiers would be deployed to help.

There has been a marked increase in the number of smaller-scale attacks in Mali this year as Islamist groups have sought to expand beyond their northern strongholds. In August, 17 people were killed in an attack claimed by al-Mourabitoun on a hotel in Sévaré, 375 miles from Bamako.

Additional reporting by Mia Alberti