Two arrested in connection with Mali hotel siege
November 26, 2015
Special forces detained two people on Thursday as authorities searched for the culprits behind the terrorist attack.
Security sources in Mali would not confirm the identities of the suspects, but said their arrests were in connection with the siege that took place at the Radisson Blu hotel on November 20. Two gunmen held 170 guests and staff hostage until security forces stormed the hotel. Twenty people were killed, along with the attackers, and nine people were wounded.
The Al-Murabitoun group, a terrorist organization affiliated with al Qaeda, claimed responsibility for the attack. The nationalities of the two gunmen are still unknown, and Malian forces continue to search for those behind the incident.
Multiple suspects
President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita has cast doubt on Al-Murabitoun's role in the terrorist attack, instead pointing to a different terrorist group, the Macina Liberation Front, which also claimed responsibility.
Earlier this week, authorities published two photos of a man and a woman suspected to be involved in planning the siege.
The attack on the Radisson came a week after the brutal terrorist attacks in Paris. France had intervened militarily in Mali in 2013 to help restore governmental control following a partial take-over of the country by Islamist group Ansar Dine.
blc/msh (AFP, Reuters)