At least 27 dead in Mali hotel attack claimed by Al-Qaeda affiliate

BAMAKO: Gun-toting jihadists took more than 100 people hostage for around nine hours at a top hotel in Mali's capital Bamako on Friday, in an attack claimed by an Al-Qaeda affiliate that left at least 27 people dead.

The assault, which was claimed by the Al-Murabitoun group of notorious one-eyed Algerian militant Mokhtar Belmokhtar, added to fears over the global jihadist threat, a week after the devastating Paris attacks that killed 130 people.