By Robert Laurie ——Bio and Archives--November 20, 2015
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These days, good news seems to be a matter of percentages. If Islamists take 170 hostages, and "only" murder 18 of them, we're supposed to act like that's some kind of "win." It's not, but that's apparently the world we live in.
If you've been following the news, you're already aware that Al Qaeda affiliated terrorists attacked a hotel in the West African nation of Mali. Reports vary, but most agree that they took somewhere in the vicinity of 170 hostages, including several Americans.Armed jihadists have killed at least 18 people in a deadly shooting rampage after taking 170 hostages at the Radisson Blu hotel in Bamako, Mali. Automatic weapons fire was heard on the seventh floor of the 190-room hotel, where it was thought as many as 10 militants roamed through the building, looking for guests and members of staff. All the hostages have since been freed after special forces raided the building. Among the victims were Belgian diplomat Geoffrey Dieudonne and a French national, with the initial death toll likely to rise.
Six American nationals were rescued alive but several other American remain among the 125 guests and 13 employees, who were unaccounted for after they trapped inside the besieged hotel after the raid. Three of the gunmen have been killed and the remaining terrorists have been seen heading to the roof as a rescue team, led by US Special Forces, made their way through the building. The al-Qaeda affiliated group Al-Mourabitoun, based in northern Mali, have claimed responsibility for the attack.This all went down within the last hour and, as you can probably guess, information about the number of survivors is still pretty sketchy. There were earlier reports that 80 captives, including 6 Americans had been rescued or escaped before the siege, while another 100-125 remained inside but, to be completely honest, virtually every news service has conflicting totals. Our best suggestion to those interested in following events as they unfold is to keep an eye on the Agence France-Presse Twitter feed. They seem to be on top of developments and are constantly updating.
#BREAKING: Eighteen bodies recovered from Mali hotel siege: foreign security source — Agence France-Presse (@AFP) November 20, 2015 #BREAKING: Mali hotel gunmen 'holding no more hostages': security minister — Agence France-Presse (@AFP) November 20, 2015We'll have an update when we learn exactly what "no more hostages" means. In the meantime, let's say a prayer for the best possible outcome...
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