Islamic Extremist Group Identifies Gunmen in Mali Hotel Attack

The statement said they were the only two who carried out the attack on the Radisson Blu hotel in Bamako, which claimed 19 lives.

Malian troops backed by French and American forces then assaulted the hotel in a siege lasting more than seven hours that involved clearing the building floor by floor. “Mali and our friends who came to visit us did not deserve to be subjected to such odious crimes”, one of them said.

“With the serial numbers… we can trace whether these come from the Malian army stock, which was looted in 2012, or if they were imported illegally”, said the official, who gave only his first name, Laurent, in line with the policy of his division.

While there’s no imminent danger in the U.S right now, authorities are advising citizens to be careful when traveling overseas, after recent multiple attacks in France, Nigeria, Denmark, Turkey, and Mali, confirms the same source.

Al-Mourabitoun’s claims could not be independently verified.

But two days after the attack, little more has been revealed on the identity of the attackers.

Amadou Sangho of Ministry for Security and Civil Protection says investigators are working to identify the two gunmen whose bodies were found at the scene. There also were guests from Spain, Russia, Germany, Algeria, Turkey and a half-dozen countries in Africa.

Wolfgang Neumann, chief executive of the Rezidor Hotel Group, which operates the Radisson Blu, said on Tuesday the attackers killed two Malian security guards, and three staff members and another two employees were wounded. Two of the troops were slightly wounded, the statement said. The claim underscores the shifting alliances and membership of the extremist groups in Mali and nearby countries. The claim was announced in the French media and is reported to be a new group that has recently emerged called the Macina Liberation Front.

In the absence of clear information, analysts have speculated on other possible motives, including a desire to disrupt Mali’s fragile local peace process or a wish by al-Qaida and its affiliates to demonstrate its relevance amid high-profile attacks by its rival, the Islamic State group. Al-Mourabitoune is a fusion of two Al-Qaida-linked groups in northern Mali. The north remains insecure, however, and the United Nations mission in Mali is the deadliest in the world, with more than 40 peacekeepers killed since it was established in April 2013.