Update on the Mali hostage crisis.

-- Two Malian citizens and a French citizen have died in the incident, a U.N. official tells France 24
-- The gunmen arrived in a diplomatic vehicle
-- No group has claimed responsibility
-- French people among those held the attacked hotel
-- Two women have been evacuated by security forces.
-- Turkish airlines has six staff members inside the attacked hotel.
-- Gunmen free some hostages, including those able to recite verses of the Quran, reports the Independent. So far, 15 hostages have been released.

@sgallman tweets: Three UN staff members have been safely extracted from the ongoing situation at the Radisson in Mali's capital, Bamako


Terrorists went on shooting rampage at the Radisson Blu hotel in the centre of Bamako, the capital of Mali. Automatic weapons fire could be heard from outside the 190-room hotel, where security forces have set up a security cordon.


Two people have "locked in" 140 guests and 30 employees in an ongoing hostage-taking at the Radisson hotel in Bamako, the hotel chain said in a statement on Friday.


Malian army commander Modibo Nama Traore said 10 gunmen stormed the hotel shouting "Allahu Akbar" or "God is great" in Arabic before firing on the guards and taking hostages.

A security source told the AFP news agency that "jihadists" were "firing in the corridor" on the seventh floor.


Pic: Police outside the Radisson Blu hotel which has been cordoned off. Courtesy: Sky News