A TOTAL of 27 people have been killed in an attack on the Radisson hotel in Mali's capital, a UN official has revealed.

The official said 12 bodies were found in the basement of the Radisson Blu Hotel in Bamako, with another 15 bodies discovered on the second floor. It is not immediately clear if the figure of 27 also includes any attackers involved in the incident.

The official stressed that the building has yet to be totally cleared, and operations are ongoing.

Another UN official, UN Mali mission spokesman Olivier Salgado, said two "extremists" had been killed. He added that forces are going from room-to-room, checking for more casualties.

It is understood many of the hotel's guests are expat or foreign airlines' workers.

The Northern Echo:
Radisson Blu Hotel, in Bamako, Mail, where the hostage crisis is taking place. Picture: Radisson Blu

Hostages able to recite verses of the Koran were released, reports said.

 

At least three people were killed after gunmen arrived at the hotel in cars with diplomatic licence plates and entered the hotel shooting, shouting "God is great!" in Arabic.

 

The hostage situation is still ongoing and the situation appears to be changing minute by minute.

Lt Col Diarran Kone, an adviser with Mali's defense ministry, says it is not yet clear what has happened.

A security source has stated that the attack happened on the seventh floor of the hotel, which has a capacity of 190 rooms and hosts many foreigners. "Jihadists are firing in the corridor," the source said.

A spokesperson fro the Carlson Rezidor group said gunmen took at least 170 people hostage at the hotel. "They have locked in about 140 guests and about 30 employees. So the hotel is locked down and there is no possibility to go out or come in," the source said.

The chain said it was working to establish the names and nationalities of those taken.

Reuters news agency has reported that the gunmen have released some hostages, including those able to recite verses of the Koran.

French RFI radio reported that three attackers arrived with diplomatic cars and started shooting in the hotel's gardens before entering the building. An unconfirmed number of guards, clients and employers were allegedly killed in the shooting according to Jeune Afrique news site.

The US Embassy in Mali confirmed the attack and asked all US citizens in Bamako to take shelter.

Following a military coup in 2012, Islamic extremists took control of northern Mali, prompting a French-led military intervention in early 2013.

The extremists were scattered from northern towns and cities, though the north remains insecure and militant attacks have extended farther south this year.

In March, masked gunmen shot up a Bamako restaurant popular with foreigners, killing five people.

About 1,000 French troops remain in the country.