Mali hotel siege ends with up to 27 reported dead
No more people were held in the Bamako hotel that was the scene of a seven-hour hostage-taking, Mali's Security Minister Salif Traore announced on Friday afternoon. Two gunmen were reported to have been killed
Issued on:
"They currently have no more hostages in their hands and forces are in the process of tracking them down," Traore told a news conference following the stand-off at Bamako's Radisson Blu.
A military source told the AFP news agency that two gunmen had been killed.
Reports from the scene said that between 18 and 27 bodies had been found.
French and US special forces took part in the operation alongside Malian troops.
A number of foreigners were among the 140 guests staying at the hotel and a Belgian national is known to have been killed.
An al-Qaeda-linked local group, Al-Mourabitoun, has claimed responsibility.
Daily newsletterReceive essential international news every morning
Subscribe