'At least two dead' as holiday hotspot in Mali is stormed by gunmen who took hostages in resort popular with Western tourists
Gunfire and billowing smoke were reported at a resort on the edge of Bamako
At least two people were killed, one Franco-Gabonese and one unidentified
20 hostages taken by the terrorists have now been rescued and put on a bus
Witnesses heard the gunmen shouting 'Allahu Akhbar' as they opened fire



Gunfire and billowing smoke were reported at a resort on the edge of Bamako
At least two people were killed, one Franco-Gabonese and one unidentified
20 hostages taken by the terrorists have now been rescued and put on a bus
Witnesses heard the gunmen shouting 'Allahu Akhbar' as they opened fire



At least two people have been killed and after an African resort popular with Westerners was stormed by gunmen shouting 'Allahu Akhbar'.
Shots were heard by local residents near Le Campement Kangaba, to the eastern edge of the Malian capital, Bamako, with plumes of smoke also seen billowing into the air.
Stunned faces of those who were captured could be seen through the windows of buses that were ferrying them to safety after they had been rescued.


Mali's Security Minister, Salif Traore, said: 'It is a jihadist attack. Malian special forces intervened and about 20 hostages have been released.
'Unfortunately for the moment there are two dead, including a Franco-Gabonese.'
Malian troops and soldiers from France's Bakhane regional counter-terrorist force surrounded the site, a resort boasting accommodation in hut-style rooms, as well as restaurants and swimming pools.
Security forces battled the gunmen at the site, with nearby residents reporting hearing shots while smoke billowed into the air, with at least one building ablaze.
Mr Traore added the second body was being identified, saying: "Operations are ongoing. We are searching room by room."
There was no immediate information on the nationality of the hostages released.
Officials have said it is believed that the attack was carried out by jihadists, and that at least two people had been killed.
'Security forces are in place. Campement Kangaba is blocked off and an operation is under way,' Security Ministry spokesman Baba Cisse said.


The situation is under control.'
Residents spoke of the terrifying scenes as the usually idyllic sight turned to carnage.
One, Modibo Diarra, said: 'I heard gunfire coming from the camp and I saw people running out of the tourist site.
'I learned that it was a terrorist attack.'

Malian soldiers succeeded in entering the site, according to Commandant Modibo Traore, according to a spokesman for the Malian special forces.
'The operation is ongoing and we estimate that there are between three and four assailants,' he said.
Security has gradually worsened in Mali since French forces pushed back allied Islamist and Tuareg rebel fighters in 2013 from swathes of the north they had occupied the previous year.
French troops and a 10,000-strong U.N. peacekeeping force have battled to stabilise the former French colony and strikes on Malian and Western targets have spread further south and far beyond traditional militant strongholds.
In November 2015, gunmen took guests and staff hostage at the luxury Radisson Blu hotel in Bamako in a siege that left at least 20 people dead, including 14 foreigners.
The attack was claimed by the North African terrorist affiliate 'Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb' (AQIM).


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...#ixzz4kRZf2LOA