Gunmen take dozens of hostages in shooting rampage at five-star hotel

Gunmen have attacked a five-star hotel and taken dozens of people hostage in Mali’s capital Bamako. Attackers reportedly went on a shooting rampage in the Radisson Blu Hotel in the centre of the city. Automatic weapon fire could be heard from outside the 190-room hotel, which has been surrounded by police. The Rezidor Hotel Group, which owns the Radisson Blu, said it was aware of “the hostage-taking that is ongoing at the property today”. It added: “As per our information two persons have locked in 140 guests and 30 employees.”

It is all happening on the seventh floor, jihadists are firing in the corridor

Security source

Some reports said there were up to ten gunmen at large in the hotel. The US embassy in Bamako tweeted that it “is aware of an ongoing active shooter operation at the Radisson Hotel”. American citizens are being urged to take shelter and let their families know they are safe. 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 scattered from northern towns and cities, but the north remains insecure and militant attacks have extended farther south this year.

mali radisson Africa