Islamist gunmen attack luxury hotel in Mali capital

An African Jihadist group affiliated with al-Qaida claimed responsibility on Friday for the attack and ongoing hostage-taking at a business hotel in the Malian capital Bamako. Al-Mourabitoun, a group based in northern Mali and made up mostly of Tuaregs and Arabs, posted a message on Twitter saying it was behind the attack on the Radisson Blu hotel, where hostages are still being held. The claim could not immediately be verified.

French special forces are at the hotel where Islamist gunmen took hostages in the Malian capital earlier on Friday, France's defence minister said.

US special forces were helping in the effort to rescue hostages at a luxury hotel in the Malian capital on Friday, a Pentagon spokeswoman said. "Special Operations Command Forward-North and West Africa personnel are currently assisting hostage recovery efforts at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Bamako," Lieutenant Colonel Michelle Baldanza said. "US forces have helped move civilians to secured locations, as Malian forces clear the hotel of hostile gunmen."

President Barack Obama says he's monitoring the situation playing out in Mali. Obama made the brief comment about hotel attack after a meeting in Kuala Lumpur with Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak. He didn't offer any additional details. The White House says Obama was briefed about the attack by his national security adviser, Susan Rice. White House officials say Obama has asked to be kept updated about new developments.

Twenty Indians who were among several people held hostage at Hotel Radisson Blue in Mali's capital of Bamako by armed men on Friday are safe and the India embassy is in touch with them, a top diplomat told TOI.

The raid on the Radisson Blu hotel, which lies just west of the city center near government ministries and diplomatic offices in the former French colony, comes a week after Islamic State (IS) militants killed 129 people in Paris.