http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-34877069
Malian special forces have entered the Radisson Blu Hotel in Mali's capital, Bamako, to end a siege by gunmen who had been holding 170 people hostage. The gunmen stormed the US-owned hotel, which is popular with foreign businesses and airline crews, shooting and shouting "God is great!" in Arabic. Malian state TV is reporting that 80 people have now been freed. At least three people are reported to have been killed in the siege that started around 07:00 GMT. Six staff from Turkish Airlines were at the hotel when it was attacked, and a Chinese guest told China's state news agency Xinhua he was among about seven Chinese tourists trapped there. A French presidential source said French citizens were also at the Radisson Blu Hotel, Reuters news agency reports.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mali
Official languages: French
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Friday November 20 2015, @04:13PM
Mali hotel attack: 'No more hostages' after special forces raid
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-34879955 [bbc.com]
Errrrr - correction.
One of those killed was Geoffrey Dieudonne, a member of parliament in Belgium's Wallonia region.
US special forces had helped in the hostage rescue operation. French special forces were also dispatched to the scene.
So, still not a lot of details. Three killed, but one of those was a civilian?
(Score: 2) by Alfred on Friday November 20 2015, @06:58PM
But I wonder why special forces were involved. Must have been a high value hostage in there or something to get that kind of attention. So many times US special forces are not sent in but they were this time, hmmm.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Friday November 20 2015, @07:11PM
Yeah, I got that impression early on. For one thing, the shooters arrived in a car with diplomatic plates on it. I read a couple things suggesting this is the best (maybe the only decent) hotel in town. so diplomats and such use it. Everyone in the motel is either wealthy or important.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday November 20 2015, @10:32PM
They're all over:
—http://www.soc.mil/USASFC/HQ.html [soc.mil]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday November 21 2015, @12:26AM
Is it really too much trouble to read TFS? You don't even need to click on a link.
From said TFS:
Or did I miss some press release about Mali becoming the 51st state?