Jihadists suspected in deadly Mali hotel siege: source

Mali

A jihadist group is strongly suspected of carrying out the hotel siege in Mali that ended with the deaths of 13 people including five UN workers, a security source said Sunday.

The Malian government said four Malian soldiers, five UN workers and four "terrorists" were killed during the protracted siege at the Byblos Hotel in the central town of Sevare, which was finally brought to an end by security forces early Saturday.

The casualties included two Ukrainians, a Nepalese and a South African, according to the UN mission in Mali (MINUSMA). 

No one has claimed responsibility for the assault which has coincided with a surge in jihadist attacks spreading through the region in recent months.

"At this stage there is no formal proof that it was the Macina Liberation Front (FLM), but strong suspicions point to this group that has been seeking notoriety at all costs," the source said. 

Since it first appeared earlier this year the FLM has claimed it was responsible for a number of attacks, including some targeting security forces in central Mali.  

FLM is considered to be linked to Ansar Dine -- Arabic for Defenders of Faith -- which is one of the groups that took control of Mali's vast semi-arid north in April 2012.

The United States placed Ansar Dine on its terror blacklist in 2013, accusing it of close links with Al-Qaeda and of torturing and killing opponents in the north.

The private Mauritanian news agency Al-Akhbar, which regularly publishes jihadist statements, also said Sunday that the FLM "could be behind the attack in Sevare."

The deadly siege began early Friday when gunmen burst into the hotel frequented by expatriates.

The Malian army -- along with foreign special forces, according to a Malian military source -- stormed the building, bringing the siege to an end nearly 24 hours later.

MINUSMA said that apart from the four foreign UN contractors, the dead also included a Malian driver working for a company contracted by the mission.

The four Malian soldiers were buried in Sevare on Saturday, with the rural development and security ministers, Boukary Treta and Sada Samake, in attendance, a witness said.