Mali: 2 suspects arrested in deadly hotel siege

In the wake of a deadly attack on the Radisson Blu hotel in Bamako on Thursday, Mali authorities have apprehended two people that are suspected of having links to the attackers.

The gunmen were killed at the scene and on Monday state media broadcast their photographs, asking anyone with information about them to come forward.

The early breakfast crowd sipped coffee and picked at croissants in the Radisson Blu’s dining room, swiping through emails and the morning headlines on their smartphones.

The statement identified the two men, both arrested in Bamako, as Seidou Diepkile and Adama Maiga.

The attack was initiated by at least two men, who held 170 of people hostage.

American and French special forces helped Malian troops liberate the hotel after a several-hours siege last week.

Six Malians and six Russians were killed along with three Chinese, two Belgians, one American, one Israeli and one Senegalese, according to Amadou Sangho, a spokesman for the interior ministry. A source close to the investigation stated that the suspects have already been brought in for interrogation, based on the data found in one of the attacker’s phones. Three militant groups have claimed responsibility for the attack. The individual allegedly even sent telephone credit to the attacker.

The U.S. embassy in Bamako has warned of the possibility of “further terrorist activity in the capital” and advised its citizens to avoid bars, restaurants and shopping centers.

The attack comes amid deteriorating security in the country just two years after a French-led military operation to scatter Islamist militants who briefly occupied the desert north.