...

Turkey hopes for speedy release of its citizens taken hostage in Mali – PM

Türkiye Materials 20 November 2015 17:54 (UTC +04:00)
Turkey hopes for a speedy release of the country's citizens, who are being held hostage in Mali
Turkey hopes for speedy release of its citizens taken hostage in Mali – PM

Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 20

By Rufiz Hafizoglu - Trend:

Turkey hopes for a speedy release of the country's citizens, who are being held hostage in Mali, Prime Minister of Turkey Ahmet Davutoglu said, the Turkish TRT Haber TV channel reported Nov.20.

Davutoglu said that seven employees of the "Turkish Airlines" were held hostage in Mali, five of them have already been released.

Gunmen shouting Islamic slogans attacked a luxury hotel full of foreigners in Mali's capital Bamako early Nov.20 morning, taking 170 people hostage, a senior security source and the hotel's operator said, Reuters reported.

"Jihadists are shooting on the seventh floor," French TV quoted a security source as saying. The seventh floor is where the Air France crew members are usually hosted. French media reported that Air France crew often stops in the hotel. Twelve Air France crew members were extracted from the hotel and are now safe and sound, the company said.

The assailants are said to have spent the night in the hotel. Reportedly, they used grenades during the attack.

Malian Special Forces started storming the hotel. Paris sent fifty counter-terrorism specialists to assist them.

The Malian Special Forces freed about 30 hostages during the operation to retake control of the hotel.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu

Tags:
Latest

Latest