#MALIATTACKS: Two suspects have been arrested

Bullet casings are seen in a helmet on the floor of the Radisson hotel in Bamako, Mali.

The attack has been claimed by al-Mourabitoun, an extremist group, which said it had cooperated with al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, and the Macina Liberation Front, a group active in central Mali that said it had worked with yet another militant group, Ansar Dine.

The statement identified the suspects as two Malians, both arrested in Bamako, but provided no other details on their background or their potential roles in the operation.

Mali authorities have arrested two people linked to the attack on Radisson Blu hotel in Bamako, the security ministry said.

The gunmen also took 170 hostages; two hours later, Malian special forces raided the hotel, freeing the hostages and killing at least two of the suspected terrorists – although, as CNN reported, the terrorists may have blown themselves up.

Chief prosecutor Boubacar Sidiki Samake, said authorities had recovered mobile phones and machine pistols from the bodies of the two militants that will help them understand how the attack was conceived. Security analysts say they could be collaborating.

One of them had been regularly in touch since August, while another sent telephone credit to an attacker, he said. The source shared, “It’s only after questioning that we will find out if the second suspect sells phone credit or is an accomplice”.

French armed forces and a 10,000-strong United Nations peacekeeping force (MINUSMA) are making all efforts to restore peace and stability to the former French colony as strikes on both Malian and Western targets continue to spread. French troops have remained in the West African country since, on a mission to stabilize the region. On Thursday, Christophe Monbelli-Valloir, deputy police commissioner for MINUSMA, stated that a team from the FBI were deployed to help the Malian-led investigation.