Mali attack: Terrorists shouting 'Allahu Akbar' kill 2; 4 assailants killed

Four assailants have been killed by security forces in Mali after an attack, which left at least two people dead, on a tourist resort popular with foreigners close to the capital Bamako, the country's security minister said.

"We have recovered the bodies of two attackers who were killed," Security Minister Salif Traore told journalists, adding that they were "searching for the bodies of two others", without specifying if any more were on the run.

Suspected jihadists crying "Allahu Akbar" stormed the tourist resort on Monday, briefly seizing hostages and leaving at least two people dead.

The assault on the Kangaba Le Campement resort comes after a similar strike less than two years ago on a luxury hotel in Bamako, which lies in the south of the troubled country.

Security forces battled the gunmen at the site, with nearby residents reporting hearing shots while smoke billowed into the air, with at least one building ablaze.

"It is a jihadist attack. Malian special forces intervened and about 20 hostages have been released," Traore told AFP.

"Unfortunately for the moment there are two dead, including a Franco-Gabonese," the minister added.

An official from the security ministry confirmed earlier that Malian special forces, backed up by UN soldiers and troops from a French counter-terrorism force, "have sealed off the area and are in the process of organising operations" against the attackers.
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