Putin expresses his condolences to President of Mali following terrorist attack

One day after gunmen stormed a luxury hotel in Mali’s capital Bamako and took 170 people hostage, officials said that “more than three” suspects in the attack are still at large.

The assault, which ended when Malian and global forces stormed the hotel, left 19 people dead, mostly foreigners. At least three of the attackers are said to have been killed. Speaking during a visit to Malaysia, US President Barack Obama said the barbarity of the attack only “stiffens” resolve “to meet this challenge”.

It was involved in several other attacks on Malian hotels, including an incident in August when militants killed 13 people in the central Malian town of Sevare.

His Majesty King Abdullah on Saturday condemned the terrorist attack that targeted a hotel in Bamako, Mali, on Friday and killed 19 people.

The African country’s northern region was taken over by Islamic extremists after a military coup in 2012, following which a French-led military campaign the following year scattered them across the country.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon decried the “horrific terrorist attack” and said the violence was aimed at derailing the implementation of a June peace agreement between rival factions. Two of the attackers died during the assault.

Special forces – including Malian, French and two USA soldiers who also happened to be in the area – staged a dramatic floor-by-floor rescue, ending the siege after about nine hours. About 40 special police forces also played a supporting role, France’s national gendarme service said. Modibo Nama Traore said Friday night that there may have been only two gunmen, both of whom were killed. Occasional bursts of gunfire were heard as the assailants went through the seven-storey building, room-by-room and floor-by-floor, one senior security source and a witness told Reuters.

Army Colonel Mark Cheadle, a spokesman for Africa Command, said six Americans were recovered from the hotel and he believed all were alive.

India said 20 of its nationals were freed.

Putin and French President Francois Hollande also spoke by phone on Tuesday and agreed to boost coordination of their military actions in fighting jihadist militants in Syria.