Alwaght- Mali today began three days of national mourning and declared a state of emergency after a nine-hour siege by an al-Qaeda affiliated terrorist group at a top hotel in the capital left at least 21 people dead.
President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, who also clarified the death toll after Malian state television reported late Friday that 27 were dead, along with three attackers.
"This evening, the death toll is heavy and terrible: 21 dead, two assailants amongst them, and seven wounded," Keita said.
The president cut short a trip to a regional summit in Chad in the wake of the attack.
Friday's assault on the Radisson Blu hotel was the latest in a series of deadly raids this year on high-profile targets in Mali, which has battled Islamist rebels based in its desert north for years.
Al-Mourabitoun, an armed group that has ties to al-Qaeda, claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it carried it out "in coordination with Imarat al-Sahra group and al-Qaeda in the Maghreb [AQIM]".
If the claim of responsibility proves true, it would not be the first attack from the group in Bamako. In March, Mourabitoun claimed responsibility for an attack that killed five people at the popular La Terrace restaurant in the capital's Hippodrome neighborhood. The group also said it was behind shots fired at a United Nations vehicle and compound.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has denounced the "horrific terrorist attack" at a luxury hotel in Mali, warning that the violence is targeting peace efforts in the country.
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In Focus
Ansarullah
A Zaidi Shiite movement operating in Yemen. It seeks to establish a democratic government in Yemen.
Shiite
represents the second largest denomination of Islam. Shiites believe Ali (peace be upon him) to be prophet"s successor in the Caliphate.
Resistance
Axis of Resistances refers to countries and movements with common political goal, i.e., resisting against Zionist regime, America and other western powers. Iran, Syria, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and Hamas in Palestine are considered as the Axis of Resistance.
Persian Gulf Cooperation Council
A regional political u n i o n consisting of Arab states of the Persian Gulf, except for Iraq.
Taliban
Taliban is a Sunni fundamentalist movement in Afghanistan. It was founded by Mohammed Omar in 1994.
Wahhabism & Extremism
Wahhabism is an extremist pseudo-Sunni movement, which labels non-Wahhabi Muslims as apostates thus paving the way for their bloodshed.
Kurds
Kurds are an ethnic group in the Middle East, mostly inhabiting a region, which spans adjacent parts of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey. They are an Iranian people and speak the Kurdish languages, which form a subgroup of the Northwestern Iranian branch of Iranian languages.
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization is an intergovernmental military alliance based on the North Atlantic Treaty which was signed on 4 April 1949.
Islamic Awakening
Refers to a revival of the Islam throughout the world, that began in 1979 by Iranian Revolution that established an Islamic republic.
Al-Qaeda
A militant Sunni organization founded by Osama bin Laden at some point between 1988 and 1989
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21 Killed in Mali Al-Qaeda Affiliated Attack, State of Emergency Declared
