WATCH: (Scroll Down For Video) Armed Mali Jihadists have killed at least three in a shooting rampage and taken 170 people hostage at the Radisson Blue hotel in Bakamo, Mali.
Automatic weapons fire has been heard on the seventh floor of the hotel, where it is thought as many as 10 militants have been going floor to floor and taken 140 guests and 30 members of staff hostage.
Witnesses have described how the gunmen allowed 20 hostages to leave safely after they proved they were able to recite verses of the Koran to the militants. US and French Special Forces have reportedly stormed the hotel and have began to clear the building one floor at a time.
It has been confirmed that an Al-Qaida-affiliated group have claimed responsibility for Mali hotel attack.
Two Malians and one French national have been tragically killed while two workers for Turkish Airlines and 10 Chinese nationals are thought to be among the hostages.
‘The whole of the Air France team is now in a safe place,’ an Air France statement said, indicating it was in ‘constant contact’ with its team of two pilots and 10 cabin crew members.
The US embassy in Bamako has urged embassy staff to seek cover from the attack, tweeting that all Americans in Mali should ‘shelter in place’.
Malian Special Forces have been seen outside the hotel and are assessing the situation while France’s national security service have confirmed that about 40 members of the French National Gendarmerie Intervention Group are en route to Bamako.
