(AGI) Bamako, Nov. 20 - Exactly one week after the Parisattacks, armed Islamic militants assaulted a hotel in Mali'scapital on Friday morning. The attackers took 170 peoplehostage at the Radisson Blu hotel in Bamako, including 130customers and a 40 employees. Responsibility for the raid wasclaimed by al-Mourabitoun, a Salafist group affiliated withal-Qaeda and composed mainly of Tuareg and Arabs from the NorthAfrican country. The group seized vast areas of land in 2012. After hours of siege and two counterattacks, Malian specialforces reported that they had found eighteen bodies in thehotel. Previous reports spoke of at least three deaths amongthe hostages, two local security guards and a French citizen.It is certain that a Belgian official was killed. Other sourcesreported 27 victims. According also Security MinisterSalif Traore, the attackers are no longer holding prisoners.Two of them were eliminated but there is still uncertaintyabout their numbers. Sources said there were about a dozenattackers. At the early stages of the raid the terrorists hadreleased able to recite verses from the Koran. U.S. andFrench elite forces and forces of the United Nations MINUSMApeacekeeping mission helped to secure the scene. Dramaticimages have been aired of the hotel surrounded by soldiers,policemen and special forces while the sound of gunfire andexplosions could be heard from the hotel. French citizensresident in Bamako have been asked not to leave their homes. After the last hostages were freed, some attackers remained'dug in' on the seventh floor, from where they continued tofire. They had arrived in a stolen car with diplomatic platesfiring wildly and shouting "Allahu Akhbar!", Allah is great.According to eyewitnesses, the attackers spoke English. TheRadisson Blu Hotel is very popular among diplomats and foreignbusinessmen. It is located in a residential area that isconsidered the safest of the city. Crews of Air France andTurkish Airlines flying on Mali usually choose the hotel forovernight stays. (AGI) . .