BAMAKO — One week after the Paris terror attacks, gunmen have taken more than 170 people hostage at the Radisson Blu hotel in Bamako, the capital of Mali, Reuters reported.
Gunmen arrived at the hotel at 7 a.m. Friday morning in a car with diplomatic plates, then stormed the hotel entrance, firing as they did, CNN reported. Two Malians and a French national have reportedly been killed.
According to CNN, Malian special forces, assisted by American and French forces, launched a rescue operation on the hotel, sweeping it floor by floor. Eighty hostages have escaped or were freed during the counter-attack. French and Chinese nationals were among those captured, Reuters reported. The nationalities of the other hostages are currently unknown.
According to Reuters, five Turkish Airlines staff managed to escape the hotel, as did 12 Air France staff. In 2012 northern Mali was occupied by Islamic militants who were later driven out largely due to a French-led military operation.
Mali is a formed French colony and supporter of the U.S. in its war on terror.
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