Two Suspects Linked to Mali’s Hotel Attack Were Arrested Thursday

Two suspects have been taken into custody Friday in connection with the Mali hotel attack that took place last week, Malian security sources said.

Six Malians and six Russians were killed along with three Chinese, two Belgians, one American, one Israeli and one Senegalese, he said.

The siege ended hours later when Malian commandos stormed the hotel and freed 170 hostages after killing two attackers.

Two men linked to a cellphone found at the scene of the militant attack on a hotel were arrested Friday.

Malian army spokesman Modibo Naman Traore gave a little more information about the suspects, saying that they were two men in their 30s who were arrested on the outskirts of Bamako.

Three Islamist militant groups – al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQMI), its splinter group al Mourabitoun and Massina Liberation Front (MLF) – have claimed the strike.

Security experts, analyzing the cell phone left at the scene of the attacks by one of the attackers, believe the suspects were providing support to the attackers.

One of those arrested had been in touch with one of the gunmen since August, according to a source close to the investigation.

It is being considered as the worst jihadist attack on the West African country in years.

The US embassy in Bamako has warned of possible “further terrorist activity” in the city.

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.

Deputy police commissioner for the MINUSMA said on Thursday that a team from the FBI has already arrived to help with the investigation regarding the terrorist attack.