Six Volga-Dnepr air crew killed in Mali terrorist attack

It’s still unclear how the two attackers died; a spokesperson for the United Nations mission in Mali said they’re trying to determine if the men were shot by special forces as they took back the hotel, or if the gunmen killed themselves, possibly with suicide vests.

According to The Guardian, the pictures on Mali state television were of two young black men, one of them lying on a metal gurney.

“It is clear that they had accomplices who helped them come to the hotel”, he said about the gunmen, adding that police had staged several raids on homes.

The Islamic extremist group, Al-Mourabitoun, that first claimed responsibility for Friday’s assault issued a new audio recording identifying the two gunmen, according to a Mauritanian news site that often receives messages from Malian extremists.

“The victims of the tragedy were identified with the assistance of the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Mali and we are deeply saddened to have to confirm that six Volga-Dnepr crew members lost their lives during the terrorist attack in Bamako”, the airline said in a statement. One security source in Mali earlier said officials believed that the two dead gunmen had been speaking English during the attack. “Authorities recovered telephones on 19 people (the two bodies) and machine pistols”, he said on state radio.

“We the Murabitoun, with the participation of our brothers from Al Qaeda in the Maghreb, claim the hostage-taking operation at the Radisson hotel”, a man’s voice said.

They were named as Abdel Hakim al-Ansari and Moadh al-Ansari.

But a jihadist group from central Mali, the Macina Liberation Front (LWF), also claimed the attack in a statement sent to AFP Sunday, saying it was carried out by a squad of five, including “three who came out safe and sound”. It was not immediately possible to verify the message’s content.

Mali began three days of mourning on Tuesday and flags flew at half mast across the country. “At this precise moment I have no more details”.

President Keita announces 21 people killed in brazen attack on luxury hotel in Bamako with three suspects on the run.

Islamist militants linked to al Qaeda seized Mali’s desert north in 2012 following a separatist rebellion however have been scattered by a French army operation the next yr.

Jihadists have stepped up assaults this yr on Western and Malian targets past their conventional northern desert bases.

Burkina Faso Prime Minister Lt. Col. Yacouba Isaac Zida was in town to express his condolences, and Benin President Thomas Boni Yayi was expected Monday afternoon.

“Our countries need to get organised”.