2 arrested over with attack on luxury hotel in Mali

Malian special forces arrested two suspects over the siege at a luxury hotel in the capital Bamako that left 20 people dead along with two assailants, security sources said.

The same source says it is likely that the two foreigners went from bar to bar so they would not be noticed, and at dawn (Friday), the Malians could have guided them in the attack on the Radisson.

Malian commandos retook the hotel and freed 170 hostages following a siege lasting several hours.

The funerals were held on the final day of a three-day period of national mourning for those killed in the assault on the Radisson Blu hotel, the second attack executed by Islamic extremists in Bamako this year.

Ban condemned the attack in which a civilian staff member was killed and said such actions “will not alter the determination of the United Nations to support the Malian people and the peace process”.

The gunmen were killed at the scene, and on Monday state media broadcast their photos, asking anyone with information about them to come forward. But officials have yet to confirm their identities and said they did not know whether the attackers were based in Bamako before the attack.

Mali authorities detained two individuals on Thursday suspected of connections to an assault on a high-end resort the security ministry said.

Northern Mali fell under control of Islamic extremists in 2012, prompting a French-led military intervention in early 2013 that drove them from cities and towns.

Two days later, another jihadist group from central Mali, the Macina Liberation Front (LWF), also claimed responsibility, saying it was carried out by a squad of five, including “three who came out safe and sound”.