Grenade-throwing gunmen stormed a hotel packed with foreigners Friday in the former French colony of Mali, killing three and taking dozens of guests and workers hostage, officials told NBC News.
Shouting "Allahu Akbar," or "God is great" in Arabic, the attackers opened fire on the guards and quickly took dozens of captives, Mali army commander Modibo Nama Traore told The Associated Press.
In the chaos, many of the guests — including six Americans — managed to escape the sprawling pink and cream colored hotel in the capital Bamako, military officials told the AP. But around 125 people were still in the clutches of the gunmen.
"The hotel is locked down and there is no possibility to go out or come in," a spokesman for Carlson Rezidor, owners of the hotel, told NBC News.
An al Qaeda-affiliated terrorist group claimed credit for the bloody attack, Reuters reported. But NBC News could not immediately confirm that.
The attack came just days after the Iyad Ag Ghaly, the leader of the al Qaeda linked militant group Ansar Dine, called for attacks on France and its interests in Mali.
Shortly after the shooting started, a U.S. special forces soldier in town for a United Nations peacekeeping conference rushed to the hotel to help Malian troops move the escapees to safety, officials said.
In Washington, President Obama was monitoring the unfolding situation, the White House said.
The raid on the Radisson Blu, which is popular with foreigners and frequently used by airline crews, came a week after terrorists killed 130 people in Paris.
In response to the fresh mayhem in Mali, France announced the immediate dispatch of 50 elite counter-terrorism police to the country.
"As per our information the persons who have entered the building and have initiated the hostage-taking have locked the property, so it is not locked by police or other forces," she added.
Monique Kouame Affoue Ekonde, an Ivorian, said she and six other people — including a Turkish woman — were escorted out by security forces as the gunmen rushed "toward the fifth or sixth floor."
U.S. officials had been keeping tabs on Mali. In August, the embassy issued a security message informing American citizens "of a heightened security risk to westerners in southern Mali, including the area outside Bamako city."
"The U.S. Embassy staff has been asked to shelter in place," it said. "All U.S. citizens should shelter in place. Private U.S. citizens are encouraged to contact their family. Monitor local media for updates. U.S. citizens should adhere to the instructions of local authorities and monitor local media."
Air France reported a dozen crew members staying at the hotel had been escorted to safety.
Meanwhile, a Chinese guest with the family name Chen told China's state-run Xinhua news agency that a number of his countrymen were trapped inside the hotel. At least seven Chinese tourists were among the hostages, the agency said.
The Indian government has said 20 Indians were in the hotel when it was attacked. Turkish Airlines said seven of its workers were also staying in the hotel, but five had been freed by security forces. The fate of the remaining two was not known.
Mali has been battling Islamic terrorism for years. Islamist fighters with ties of al Qaeda occupied the northern part of the country for most of 2012 before they were driven out by a French-led military operation last year.
Last March, an Islamist group claimed responsibility for killing five diners at a restaurant in Bamako that is also popular with foreigners.
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