As many as 27 dead after siege at Mali hotel

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Malian troops outside the Radisson Blu hotel
(Image credit: HABIBOU KOUYATE/AFP/Getty Images)

A group of armed men stormed the Radisson Blu Hotel in Bamako, Mali's capital, early Friday, The Guardian reports. The gunmen had taken approximately 150 people hostage inside the hotel, shouting, "Allahu Akbar" ("God is great"). Mali's military said that two of the gunmen were killed in the siege; all the hostages are now free. A U.N. official said the hotel counted 27 bodies inside. Six Americans who were in the hotel when it was attacked have been verified as safe.

An African al Qaeda group, Al-Mourabitoun, has claimed responsibility for the attack. The group conducted an attack on a hotel in central Mali last August, which left 17 dead.

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Jeva Lange
Jeva Lange

Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.