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SUMMARY: Extremists armed with guns and grenades stormed a luxury hotel in Bamako, Mali, early Friday morning, shooting dozens. Witnesses said they went room by room, letting guests go if they could recite verses of the Koran. Malian special forces stormed the hotel, freeing hostages and battling the Islamist attackers into the night. Judy Woodruff talks to Rudolph Atallah of the Atlantic Council.
JUDY WOODRUFF (NewsHour): The siege today in the capital city of Mali lasted all day before ending this evening. Islamist gunmen burst into a hotel and seized up to 170 hostages, many of them foreigners. In the end, scores of hostages were rescued or escaped, but the estimates of the dead ranged from 19 to at least 27, plus two attackers.
And the State Department said one American was among those killed.
The attack on the Radisson Blu brought security forces on the run early this morning. Mali’s Defense Ministry said extremists armed with guns and grenades stormed the luxury hotel in Bamako just as guests were beginning their day.
MAN (through interpreter): At this moment, this morning around 7:30, individuals not yet identified, about three or four, we believe, so far, attacked the Radisson Blu hotel. Sadly, there are deaths. People must remain calm.
JUDY WOODRUFF: By some accounts, the attackers carjacked a diplomatic vehicle, drove up to the hotel, and stormed inside. Witnesses said they shouted Islamist slogans and went room by room, asking guests if they could recite verses of the Koran. Those who could were let go.
Early on, the owner of the hotel said the assailants locked in as many as 140 guests and 30 employees. Hours later, Malian special forces stormed the hotel themselves, freeing hostages one floor at a time.
MAN (through interpreter): The soldiers were very professional. They took good care of us. They came to us. They knocked. They said: “It’s the security forces.” And then I looked. It was them. I left the room. They cleared the whole floor.
MAN (through interpreter): I heard gunshots very early in the morning. I thought it was firecrackers and didn’t realize it was a hostage situation. At one point, the Malian forces came to get us. They knocked on our doors and evacuated us in small groups. Thank God we’re safe.
JUDY WOODRUFF: At least six Americans were evacuated during the operation, with U.S. and French special forces assisting the Malians.
A jihadist group previously affiliated with al-Qaida, al-Murabitun, claimed responsibility for the attack.
In Paris, French President Francois Hollande vowed to help the former French colony.
"The latest on the Mali hotel attack" PBS NewsHour 11/21/2015
Excerpt
SUMMARY: Authorities in the West African nation of Mali say armed Islamic terrorists killed 19 people in Friday’s attack on a Radisson hotel in the capital city of Bamako. Among the victims were hotel guests from Russia, China, Belgium, Israel -- and one American. Wall Street Journal reporter Drew Hinshaw joins Megan Thompson via Skype from Ghana with the latest.
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