At least three people were killed Friday in a wall 170 hostages in Bamako Radisson hotel, assaulted by the security forces of Mali, a country where attacks are multiplying jihadists.
This attack comes a week after the terrorist attacks in Paris, claimed by the Islamic State Group (EI), which left 129 dead.
"Three hostages were killed," he told AFP a spokesman for the Ministry of Security of Mali. An assault by Malian security forces "will just be released" and the "special forces could release ten people," he added.
The assailants are "two or three," said the spokesman.
The Rezidor Hotel Group, which manages the Radisson Malian capital said two attackers took hostage "140 customers and 30 employees."
"Our security teams are in constant contact with local authorities to provide all possible to restore security in the hotel for help. At the moment we have no other information and follow the situation closely, "says a statement released in London hotel group.
In the Malian capital, a journalist from the AFP found that several jihadist opened fire at the Radisson hotel, located in the city center.
From the outside this hotel of 190 rooms automatic gunfire were heard. "It happens on the seventh floor, some jihadists are shooting in the hallway," said a security source. The area was cordoned off by police.
According to a Malian security source, the attackers entered the hotel grounds aboard a car with diplomatic plates.
Six staff members of the Turkish air carrier Turkish Airlines are in the hotel, a Turkish government source told AFP.
"We have confirmed that there are currently six employees of the Turkish Airlines," said this source, who requested anonymity.
The Turkish airline covers various destinations in Africa, including Mali's capital.
Moreover, among the 170 hostages are at least seven Chinese citizens, according to the official Xinhua news agency
- UN forces -
Besides Malian police and soldiers deployed around the hotel also they were in the place of members of the UN force in Mali, Minusma, according to an AFP photographer.
According to a French consultant who requested anonymity, and frequently staying at the Radisson hotel "it is an obvious target for terrorists".
In August, an attack on a hotel in Sévaré (central Mali), caused 13 deaths. On March 7 bombing of a bar-restaurant in Bamako killed 5 people, including a French and a Belgian.
In 2012, several jihadi groups linked to al Qaida seized parts of northern Mali. Many of them were expelled from the launch in January 2013 of an international military operation initiated by France and still in force.
But there are areas outside the control of the Malian and foreign forces. For a while jihadist attacks were concentrated in the north but from the beginning of 2015 were extended to the center, and from June to south. AFP