At least 3 hostages killed in Mali hotel siege

At least three hostages were killed Friday as jihadists besieged a luxury hotel in Mali's capital Bamako, the country's security ministry said, adding that security forces were now storming the establishment.

Six Turkish Airlines personnel were also among those trapped in the Radisson Blu hotel, a Turkish official said.

"We have confirmed that there are six personnel from Turkish Airlines" in the hotel, the official told AFP. A spokesman for the country's flag-carrier airline THY declined to comment when contacted by AFP.

At least seven Chinese tourists are also among the hostages, China's official Xinhua news agency reported Friday.

Xinhua said it was in communication with a Chinese hostage, a tourist identified only by his surname Chen, at the hotel where it said "about 10" gunmen had taken 170 people captive.

It is the second such attack on a hotel in Mali since August.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com