Attack on Mali hotel

Gunmen targeted two hotels Friday in central Mali. The first attack on an unnamed hotel in the town of Sevare led to an exchange of gunfire. The militants then moved on to Hotel Byblos next door where authorities say at least six people were seized.

Among the dead were two Malian soldiers, while the body of a white man was seen lying sprawled outside the hotel grounds, AFP reported.

Casualties figures are unclear. Troops were still exchanging fire with the attackers and residents reported smoke rising from the hotel premises.

"The operation to free the hostages is ongoing," Lt. Col. Diarran Kone told Reuters.

Ukrainian consular officials confirmed a Ukrainian national was among the hostages, while Moscow said it believed a Russian aviation official was in the hotel and may be among those being held. Three South Africans and a French national were also believed to be staying at the hotel at the time of the attack.

There has been no claim of responsibility for the early morning attack, and no official comment from the government, which is facing increasing jihadist violence despite a peace deal.

Jihadist attacks have long been concentrated in the north of the country, but began spreading this year.

A Malian security source told AFP that the raid appeared to have been a failed bid to kidnap several Russian nationals working as UN peacekeepers. The men are believed to have escaped unharmed.

"The army has completely sealed off the area and the town is in lockdown. They have asked people to stay at home," a local official told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The hotel was also popular with United Nations peacekeepers, but Radhia Achouri, spokeswoman for the UN's MINUSMA force in Mali refused to comment on their presence.

Sevare is close to the main regional town of Mopti, over 620 kilometers (385 miles) from the capital, Bamako. The United Nations has deployed the MINUSMA force in the country's north, following the area's Islamist occupation.

Last month, the Ansar Dine, a group linked to al Qaeda, claimed responsibility for a series of attacks on UN peacekeepers, the Malian army in the capital, Bamako, and areas bordering Mauritania and Ivory Coast.

mg/bk (Reuters, AFP)