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Some 27 people were killed after security services ended a siege in a hotel in the capital of Mali on Friday. Special Forces raided the building after suspected Islamist gunmen stormed the Radisson Blu Hotel in Bamako at around 7am in the morning.
Some of the attackers may still be holed up within the hotel, the Washington Post reported, but they do not hold any hostages.
The gunmen reportedly entered the hotel shouting “God is great!” in Arabic, and shooting indiscriminately. At least three people were confirmed dead earlier, and 170 were taken hostage. According to the BBC, the 190-room hotel is popular venue for foreign businesses and airline crews.
Among the three killed was Geoffrey Dieudonne, a member of the Belgian parliament.US Special Forces, aided by their French and Malian counterparts, carried out the raid.
The government of the former French colony has been fighting rebels allied to al Qaeda for several years. According to Reuters, some of the hostages were freed by the attackers if they could prove they could recite verses from the Quran.
Al-Mourabitou, a group affiliated with al-Qaeda, claimed responsibility for the attack. No link has been established with last week’s atrocity in Paris that killed 132 people. The Islamic State is not believed to have a foothold in the region.