GUNMEN STORM MALI HOTEL, TAKES 170 PEOPLE HOSTAGE

Gunmen attacked a five-star hotel in Mali's capital Bamako on Friday and were holding 170 hostages.

Attackers shouting "Allahu Akbar" opened fire outside the Radisson Blu Hotel in the centre of the capital before storming it.

Speaking to Al Jazeera by phone from Bamako, business owner Garba Konate said a group of attackers showed up about 0700 GMT.

Reports said they drove up in vehicles bearing diplomatic license plates, thereby gaining easy access. 

About 10 gunmen arrived early in the morning and shot all the guards in front of the Radisson," Konate said. 

Another witness said he helped a wounded guard to safety.

"I started hearing gunshots coming from the hotel," said Ibrahim, 28, who works at a cultural centre 40 metres away.

"Soon after I saw one of the guards running out, injured... The security guard told me the shooters were so quick that he doesn't even know how many came in," he told Al Jazeera.

Automatic weapon fire could be heard from outside the 190-room hotel where security forces set up a security cordon.

Witnesses said several hostages were released by the attackers after reciting versus from the Quran.

Idrissa Sangare, a local journalist at the scene, told Al Jazeera Malian special forces, French troops, and UN soldiers were working together in front of the hotel.

"We don't know who carried out the attack because the operation is still going on," Sangare said. "We're hearing sporadic gunfire. There are a lot of injured people inside the hotel I'm being told - more than 40 people."

UN officials were holding a function at the hotel, he reported. 

Sangare said he saw more than a dozen hostages exiting the Radisson in groups of two and three. 

At least seven Chinese nationals were inside, state news agency Xinhua reported. Six Turkish Airlines staff were also among those held, a Turkish government official told Reuters.

French nationals were also among those in the siege, a source in France's president's office told Reuters.

The hotel's owner said it was "aware of the hostage-taking that is ongoing at the property today ... As per our information, two persons have locked in 140 guests and 30 employees," the company said in a statement.

Both the US and French embassies told their citizens to take cover and stay indoors. 

Source: Al Jazeera