Luxury hotels in the capital of Mali, Bamako, an armed group attacked and hundreds of people hostage. (CNN Indonesia)
"I heard them say in English 'Are you reloaded?', 'Let's go'," said Sekouba'Bambino "Diabetes who were freed from the hotel by the special forces of Mali.
"I can not see them because of the very difficult to do in a situation like this," he told Reuters on Friday (20/11).
Eyewitnesses at the scene said they heard gunshots from inside the hotel.
Mali state television said the country's special forces freed 80 people, but the French newspaper Le Monde quoted a source in the Malian security ministry said at least three people were killed in the initial attack.
There was also media reports that a number of the hostages managed to free themselves, and a number of others were released after saying Holy Koran.
A senior source in the security services told Reuters Mali say, this armed group stormed the Raddison Blu hotel at 07.00, Friday (20/11) as he opened fire and shouting "Allahu Akbar". They then moved inside the hotel building, combing each room from one floor to another.
French President Francois Hollande said it had contacted the government of Mali and said France would "provide the necessary assistance" to address this incident.
Mali President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita accelerate a visit to a regional summit held in Chad, to step down immediately in handling hostage.
A spokesman for the UN mission in Mali Olivier Saldago said armed assailants AK-47 arrived at the hotel at 07.00 am local time by using more than one vehicle or a vehicle with diplomatic license plates.
Media reported that the attackers were numbered two or three people.
Witness named Amadou Keita who work in the cultural center near the hotel told CNN that the gunman opened fire when entering the hotel.
According to him the sound of gunfire was heard for several minutes.
A UN official said two citizens of Mali and a French citizen was killed, although he did not give further details.
Three of the seven Turkish Airlines Flight airline staff were trapped inside the hotel when a group of armed men attacked, managed to escape.
A Turkish government official who announced this does not explain whether the three men were released or escaped.
A total of airline Air France crew members who stayed at the hotel which was attacked in Bamako reported safe.
Meanwhile, a White House official said President Barack Obama asked his team of advisors to continue to inform the development of related attacks and hostage in Mali luxury hotels.
Obama now in Malaysia to attend the ASEAN summit, and has been talking to National Security Adviser Susan Rice about the events that occurred in Mali on Friday (20/11) this.
Islamist movements in Mali often carry out bloody attacks in central Mali region that includes the Sahara, and also the capital of Bamako.
One Islamist group claimed responsibility for the deaths of five people in an attack at a restaurant that is popular among foreigners in Bamako, in March.
In August, 17 people died when a hotel in Sevare, central Mali, was attacked by Islamist militants based in the Sahara called al-Mourabitoun.
Victims in the attack on Seare it also includes civilians and five of them worked for the UN mission in Mali, MINUSMA, and four Malian soldiers and four militants.
Most of the 2012 period, northern Mali occupied by Islamist fighters who mostly have a relationship with al Rule.
These fighters defeated by the French-led military operations, but sporadic violence continued in central Mali which includes the Sahara in the south and also the capital of Bamako.
The news agency Reuters said French military involvement in Mali is one of the reasons there was an attack in Paris and also the interests of France.
"This is just the beginning, we will never forget the tragedy in Mali," said the foreign militants in Syria who contacted Reuters by cyberspace.
"The bitterness in Mali, French vanity, will never be forgotten."
For preventative measures this airline delay all flights to and from Bamako on Friday (20/11).
(CNN/Reuters/Yns)
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