Five foreigners rescued in Mali hotel siege - military

BAMAKO: A "number" of people held by gunmen during a standoff at a hotel in central Mali have been freed overnight and at least five foreigners evacuated from the site, according to Malian military sources.

"We can not say that everything is finished, but a number of hostages" were freed by Malian forces deployed around the Hotel Byblos in Sevare, a source said early Saturday, after it was stormed by the gunmen in an attack that has left at least seven people dead.