Gunmen attack hotel in Mali’s capital, killing at least 20

An extremist group that two years ago split from al-Qaida’s North Africa branch and led by Moktar Belmoktar claimed responsibility in a recorded statement carried by Al-Jazeera.

The soldiers stormed the hotel to end a daylong siege that started when gunmen raided the hotel after attacking a military site nearby, witnesses said.

Earlier, military forces stormed into the Radisson Blu hotel to rescue the hostages.

“The hostage-taking is over”.

Separately, Germany’s foreign minister says that two Germans who were taken hostage in the hotel have been set free.

The death toll remains murky with France’s defense minister Jean-Yves Le Drian saying 18 people are dead at the hotel along with one Malian soldier killed in the fighting.

Meanwhile, the Malian government has declared a 10-day nationwide state of emergency nad it has also called for three days of mourning, Xinhua news agency reported.

The palatial 190-room Radisson, regarded as one of west Africa’s best hotels, attracts entrepreneurs, tourists and government officials from across the world with its luxury spa, outdoor pool and conference suites.

Army Cmdr. Modibo Nama Traore said late Friday that 20 people had been killed, including an official with Mali’s gendarmerie.

The Chinese Embassy in Mali says all seven Chinese were traveling to Mali on business.

Twelve Air France flight crew were in the building but all were extracted safely, the French national carrier said.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon led worldwide condemnation of the “horrific terrorist attack” suggesting the violence was aimed at destroying peace efforts in the country.

National Security Council spokesman Ned Price praised the bravery of the Malian, French, United Nations and US security personnel who responded, adding that Washington was prepared to assist Mali’s government as it investigates “this tragic terrorist attack”. President Barack Obama said he’s monitoring the situation.

France has 3,500 troops operating in Mali and four other countries in the Sahel region as part of a five-nation counterterrorism operation.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has sent his condolences to Mali President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita in connection with the Friday attack in Bamako, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

Questions were raised over security at the hotel, with one regular guest, a French consultant, telling AFP that cars entering the compound were not always properly searched.

According to the Mali leader, 19 people were killed in the attack and two militants died in the course of the siege.

Five people, including a French citizen and a Belgian, were also killed in an assault on a Bamako restaurant in March, the first such incident in the capital targeting Westerners.