At least 27 dead after Islamists seize luxury hotel in Mali's capital

Fri Nov 20, 2015 | 6:56 PM EST About 27 dead after Islamists seize hotel in Mali's capital 12:25 PM EST | 01:21 At least 27 dead after Mali hotel siege About 27 dead after Islamists seize hotel in Mali'...X By Tiemoko Diallo BAMAKO (Reuters) - Around 27 people were reported dead on Friday after Malian commandos stormed a hotel seized by Islamist gunmen to rescue 170 people, many of them foreigners, trapped in the building. The jihadist group Al Mourabitoun, which is based in the desert north of the former French colony, claimed responsibility for the attack and said it worked with al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb. Mali has been battling Islamist rebels for years. A security source said the siege was over by around 4 p.m. local time (1630 GMT) and two militants were dead. A United Nations official said U.N. peacekeepers searching the hotel had made a preliminary count of 27 bodies. The government held an emergency cabinet meeting on Friday night and was expected to give an official death toll later. "At first I thought it was a carjacking. Then they killed two guards in front of me and shot another man in the stomach and wounded him and I knew it was something more," said Modi Coulibaly, a Malian legal expert who saw the assault start. State television showed troops brandishing AK47s in the lobby of the Radisson Blu, one of the capital Bamako's smartest hotels and beloved of foreigners. A body lay under a brown blanket at the bottom of a flight of stairs. Peacekeepers saw 12 dead bodies in the basement of the hotel and another 15 on the second floor, the U.N. official told Reuters on condition of anonymity. He added that the U.N. troops were still helping Malian authorities search the hotel. The U.S. State Department said one American had been killed. Earlier, the White House said it was working to locate all Americans in Mali, and it offered to help with an investigation and urged its citizens to limit their movements around Bamako. A man who worked for a Belgian regional parliament was also among the dead, the assembly said. France's Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said he was not aware of any French nationals killed. Minister of Internal Security Colonel Salif Traoré said the gunmen burst through a security barrier at 7 a.m. (0700 GMT), spraying the area with gunfire and shouting "Allahu Akbar", or "God is great" in Arabic. The attacks are a slap in the face for France, which has stationed 3,500 troops in northern Mali to try to restore stability after a 2012 Tuareg rebellion which was later hijacked by al Qaeda-linked jihadists. They also put a spotlight back on veteran militant leader Mokhtar Belmokhtar months after he was reported killed. Mali president says 21 dead in Bamako hotel attack One American killed in attack in Mali: U.S. State Dept Al Mourabitoun, al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb carried out Mali attack: U.S. government source BURSTS OF GUNFIRE Bursts of gunfire were heard as the assailants went through the hotel room by room and floor by floor, one senior security source and a witness told Reuters. Some people were freed by the attackers after showing they could recite verses from the Koran, while others managed to escape or were brought out by security forces. One of the rescued hostages, celebrated Guinean singer Sékouba "Bambino" Diabate, said he had overheard two of the assailants speaking English as they searched an adjacent room. "We heard shots coming from the reception area. I didn't dare go out of my room because it felt like this wasn't just simple pistols - these were shots from military weapons," Diabate told Reuters by phone. "The attackers went into the room next to mine. I stayed still, hidden under the bed, not making a noise," he said. "I heard them say in English 'Did you load it?', 'Let's go'." RELATED VIDEO Video 02:03 First images after gunmen take hostages at Mali hotel; rescue operation underway Video 00:49 Obama: U.S. monitoring situation in Mali The raid on the hotel, which lies just west of the city centre near government ministries and diplomatic offices, came a week after Islamic State militants killed 130 people in Paris. Twelve Air France (AIRF.PA) flight crew members were in the hotel but all were brought out safely, the French national carrier said. A Turkish official said five of seven Turkish Airlines staff had also managed to flee. The Chinese state news agency Xinhua said three Chinese citizens had been killed in the attack. PRESIDENT RETURNS Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita cut short a trip to a regional summit in Chad, his office said. Mali hotel attack puts veteran militant back in spotlight White House condemns attack in Mali, offers to help investigate U.S. urges Americans to limit movements in Bamako after attack Northern Mali was occupied by Islamist fighters, some with links to al Qaeda, for most of 2012. They were driven out by a French-led military operation, but sporadic violence has continued in Mali's central belt on the southern reaches of the Sahara, and in Bamako. One security source said as many as 10 gunmen had stormed the building, although the company that runs the hotel, Rezidor Group, said it understood that there were only two attackers. Al Mourabitoun has claimed responsibility for a number of attacks, including an assault on a hotel in the town of Sevare, 600 km (375 miles) northeast of Bamako, in August in which 17 people including five U.N. staff were killed. One of its leaders is Belmokhtar, blamed for a large-scale assault on an Algerian gas field in 2013 and a major figure in insurgencies across North Africa. In the wake of last week's Paris attacks, an Islamic State militant in Syria told Reuters the organisation viewed France's military intervention in Mali as another reason to attack France and French interests. "This is just the beginning. We also haven't forgotten what happened in Mali," said the non-Syrian fighter, who was contacted online by Reuters. "The bitterness from Mali, the arrogance of the French, will not be forgotten at all." (Reporting by Tiemoko Diallo; Additional reporting by Adama Diarra, Joe Penney and Kissima Diagana in Bamako, Makini Brice in Dakar, John Irish in Paris, Washington and United Nations bureaus; Writing by Joe Bavier and Ed Cropley; Editing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg, Andrew Roche, Toni Reinhold) ================== Reuters Breaking News: U.N. peacekeepers at Mali hotel saw 27 bodies World News liveblog Reuters live coverage of events around the world. Follow @ReutersWorld on Twitter for top news and @ReutersLive for live video events. Commandos storm luxury Mali hotel attacked by Islamists, dozens freed Malian commandos stormed a luxury hotel in Bamako on Friday after Islamist gunmen took 170 people including many foreigners hostage in the capital of the former French colony, which has been battling rebels allied to al Qaeda for several years. More: Al Qaeda-affiliated group claims Mali hotel attack Hostage freed from Mali hotel says attackers spoke English by cassandra.garrison 2:21 AM Comment ↑ 2 Two attackers involved in storming of hotel in Mali capital killed. Wounded civilians being evacuated: security sources by cassandra.garrison 2:54 AM Comment ↑ 0 BREAKING: Hostage situation at Radisson Blu hotel in Mali's Bamako over: security sources by cassandra.garrison 2:53 AM Comment ↑ 0 U.N. peacekeepers saw 27 bodies at Mali hotel - U.N. official United Nations peacekeepers saw some 27 bodies on two separate floors of a luxury hotel in Mali's capital Bamako that was attacked on Friday, a U.N. official told Reuters, citing preliminary information. The peacekeepers saw 12 corpses in the basement of the hotel and another 15 on the second floor, the official said on condition of anonymity. He added that the U.N. troops were still helping Malian authorities search the hotel. (Reporting by Louis Charbonneau and Michelle Nichols) by cassandra.garrison 2:46 AM Comment ↑ 0 U.N. peacekeepers on scene at Mali hotel saw some 27 bodies; information still preliminary and search of hotel continues: U.N. official by cassandra.garrison 2:39 AM Comment ↑ 0 No more hostages being held at Mali Bamako hotel-Malian official All remaining hostages at the Malian siege where at least three people died are now safe and out of the Radisson Blu in Bamako where they had been held, ministerial adviser Amadou Sangho told French television station BFMTV. "These people have been taken under the wing of the civil authorities," he said. Earlier Malian commandos stormed the luxury hotel after Islamist gunmen took 170 people including many foreigners hostage in the capital of the former French colony, which has been battling rebels allied to al Qaeda for several years. He added the operation was undertaken "uniquely" by Malian forces. (Reporting by John Irish; Editing by Andrew Callus) by cassandra.garrison 2:30 AM Comment ↑ 0 UK Prime Minister @Number10gov PM: My thoughts are with those caught up in the #Bamako attack. We stand with our partners around the world in the fight against terrorism. 10:33 AM - 20 Nov 2015Reply by cassandra.garrison 2:26 AM From the directer of SITE Intel Group: Rita Katz @Rita_Katz 1)#AlQaeda supporters celebrate #Malihotelsiege: #ISIS “should learn a thing or two”;“may allah give[attackers]…strength to kill more& more” 10:33 AM - 20 Nov 2015Reply Rita Katz @Rita_Katz 2) #Shabaab fighter:"Lions who carried out #MaliAttack separated Muslims from Christian in order to protect the inviolable blood of Muslims" 10:37 AM - 20 Nov 2015Reply Retweet Favorite Rita Katz @Rita_Katz 3) Belmokhtar reaffirmed pledged to #AQ, but a section of Mourabiton, headed by Adnan al-Sahrawi, pledged to #ISIS in May 2015 10:27 AM - 20 Nov 2015Reply Retweet Favorite 1 of 3 by cassandra.garrison 2:16 AM Comment ↑ 0 Belgian man dies in Bamako hotel siege - regional assembly A Belgian working for the Wallonia-Brussels regional parliament died during an attack and hostage-taking at a luxury hotel in Bamako, Mali, the parliament said on Friday. The parliament on its website named the official as Geoffrey Dieudonne, who had been attending a convention in Mali for three days. It said it did not have further details about his death. (Reporting By Philip Blenkinsop) by cassandra.garrison 2:14 AM Comment ↑ 0 BREAKING: Malian official tells BFM TV that there are no more hostages being held at Bamako hotel. by cassandra.garrison 2:13 AM Comment ↑ 0 Al Qaeda-affiliated group claims Mali hotel attack Reuters An African jihadist group affiliated with al Qaeda claimed responsibility on Friday for an attack on a luxury hotel packed with foreigners in the Malian capital Bamako. by cassandra.garrison 2:07 AM Comment ↑ 0 BREAKING: Belgian regional assembly says one of its officials died in Bamako hotel siege. by cassandra.garrison 2:04 AM Comment ↑ 0 Ambassade des Etats-Unis au... SECURITY MESSAGE FROM THE US EMBASSY IN BAMAKO: The security incident at the Radisson Hotel is ongoing and all U.S. citizens are encouraged to continue sheltering in place. The U.S. Embassy is discouraging any movement around the city unless it is travel to a safer location (i.s. such as your home). Continue monitoring local media for updates and adhere to the instructions of local authorities. 20 November 2015 Comment Share Comment ↑ 0 Here is the tweet Reuters is citing in this story about an African jihadist group affiliated with al Qaeda claiming responsibility for the Mali attack. Step News Agency @Step_Agency #مالي #Mali #عاجل جماعة #المرابطون تتبنى عملية احتجاز الرهائن في فندق #راديسون بلو بالعاصمة #باماكو #خطوة 9:23 AM - 20 Nov 2015Reply Retweet Favorite by cassandra.garrison 1:59 AM Comment ↑ 0 Too soon to say whether Mali situation related to Paris attacks -US envoy A U.S. presidential envoy to the coalition battling Islamic State said on Friday that it was too soon to speculate whether the hostage situation in Mali was related in some way to the attacks in Paris last week. "It is too really to soon to speculate" on whether the attacks may be related, Special Presidential Envoy Brett McGurk told MSNBC. "The groups in Mali aren't particularly connected to the ISIS groups," he added, using an acronym for Islamic State. (Reporting by Timothy Ahmann and Megan Cassella; Editing by Susan Heavey) by cassandra.garrison 1:50 AM Comment ↑ 0 Six U.S. citizens among those recovered in hotel: U.S. military Reuters Six U.S. citizens are among the people who have been recovered from the Radisson hotel in Mali where attackers took 170 people hostage on Friday, a U.S. military spokesman said. by cassandra.garrison 1:46 AM Comment ↑ 0 McGurk says militant groups in Mali not particularly connected to Islamic State: MSNBC by cassandra.garrison 1:40 AM Comment ↑ 0 BREAKING: U.S. presidential envoy McGurk says too soon to speculate whether Mali attack may be related in some way to Paris attacks: MSNBC by cassandra.garrison 1:40 AM Comment ↑ 0 Just one week after the Paris attacks, French President Francois Hollande has turned his attention to the ongoing Islamist extremist incident in Mali, saying everything possible is being done to free hostages in a Bamako hotel. Rough Cut-subtitled (no reporter narration). by natalie.armstrong 1:35 AM Comment ↑ 0 John Kirby @statedeptspox U.S. citizens in #Bamako are encouraged to contact family & adhere to instructions of local authorities & monitor local media. #MaliAttacks 2:21 PM - 20 Nov 2015Reply Retweet Favorite by jamillah.knowles 1:34 AM Comment ↑ 0 John Kirby @statedeptspox We are aware U.S. citizens might be present Radisson Hotel in Bamako, #Mali. @USEmbassyMali working to verify this information #MaliAttacks 2:19 PM - 20 Nov 2015Reply Retweet Favorite by jamillah.knowles 1:33 AM Comment ↑ 0 Six U.S. citizens among those recovered in hotel - U.S. military Six U.S. citizens are among the people who have been recovered from the Radisson hotel in Mali where attackers took 170 people hostage on Friday, a U.S. military spokesman said. Army Colonel Mark Cheadle, a spokesman for the U.S. Africa Command, also said that U.S. special forces were assisting in the incident in the capital city of Bamako. Dozens of people were reported to have escaped or been freed, but at least three were dead. There was no immediate claim of responsibility. (Reporting by Warren Strobel; Writing by Lisa Lambert; Editing by Susan Heavey) by cassandra.garrison 1:25 AM Comment ↑ 1 Reuters Pictures @reuterspictures Gunmen attack a luxury hotel in Mali's capital Bamako, taking 170 people hostage https://t.co/I6q3QjEKfJ https://t.co/pchkytZwsd 9:49 AM - 20 Nov 2015Reply Retweet Favorite by cassandra.garrison 1:20 AM Comment ↑ 0 ian bremmer @ianbremmer Mali: 342 killed in terror this year https://t.co/d9RcRVB8uZ 2:32 PM - 20 Nov 2015Reply Retweet Favorite by jamillah.knowles 1:15 AM Comment ↑ 0 BREAKING: Supporters of al-Qaeda-affiliated group claim responsibility for attack in Mali: Twitter posting by cassandra.garrison 1:15 AM Comment ↑ 0 Commandos storm luxury Mali hotel attacked by Islamists, dozens freed Reuters Malian commandos stormed a luxury hotel in Bamako on Friday after Islamist gunmen took 170 people including many foreigners hostage in the capital of the former French colony, which has been battling rebels allied to al Qaeda for several years. by cassandra.garrison 1:13 AM Comment ↑ 0 Mali hotel attackers dig in on seventh floor, gunfire heard BAMAKO, Nov 20 (Reuters) - Heavy gunfire was heard from inside a luxury hotel in Mali's capital on Friday as soldiers advanced to free hostages held by Islamist fighters barricaded in on the building's seventh floor, a witness and security source said. "Security forces are operating inside and are clearing each floor bit by bit and freeing hostages who are in their rooms," the security source said. "There are dozens, even around a hundred, still inside." by jamillah.knowles edited by cassandra.garrison 1:13 AM Comment ↑ 0 U.S. President Barack Obama says U.S. officials are monitoring the situation in Mali where Islamic militants stormed a hotel and took hostages. Rough Cut (no reporter narration). by natalie.armstrong 1:10 AM Comment ↑ 0 Malian special forces stormed a luxury hotel in Bamako on Friday after Islamist gunmen took 170 people including many foreigners hostage in the capital of the former French colony, which has been battling rebels allied to al Qaeda for several years. Rough Cut by jamillah.knowles 1:07 AM Comment ↑ 0 Gunmen storm Mali hotel | Reuters.com Reuters by cassandra.garrison 1:06 AM Comment ↑ 1 U.S. military spokesman says 6 American citizens are among those recovered in hotel by jamillah.knowles 1:04 AM Comment ↑ 0 French Special forces are on site at hotel in Bamako since early this afternoon - Defence Minister by jamillah.knowles 1:02 AM Comment ↑ 0 U.S. spokesman says U.S. special forces helping in Mali hotel incident by jamillah.knowles 1:01 AM Comment ↑ 0 Foreign Office (FCO) @foreignoffice #Mali: Updated travel advice https://t.co/b1XtnaAK1D British nationals advised to remain indoors & follow instructions of local authorities. 1:23 PM - 20 Nov 2015Reply Retweet Favorite by jamillah.knowles 12:51 AM Comment ↑ 2 Radisson Blu @RadissonBlu Our priority is the safety of those in Bamako, #Mali. Phone lines have been established for concerned families https://t.co/A9unKXdSmr 1:05 PM - 20 Nov 2015Reply Retweet Favorite by jamillah.knowles 12:50 AM Comment ↑ 0 U.S. State Department says U.S. citizens might be present at Mali hotel, working to verify. by jamillah.knowles 12:47 AM Comment ↑ 0 U.S. military helping move civilians to safety in Mali -U.S. official WASHINGTON, Nov 20 (Reuters) - Some U.S. military personnel in Mali were helping move civilians to secure locations amid an attack at a luxury hotel in Bamako, a. U.S. defense official told Reuters on Friday. About 25 American military personnel were in Bamako when Islamist gunmen stormed the hotel, the official said, adding that there has not yet been a formal request for U.S. military assistance. by jamillah.knowles 12:43 AM Comment ↑ 0 Mali hotel gunment have dug in on building's seventh floor as special forces advance - Security source by jamillah.knowles 12:40 AM Comment ↑ 0 U.S. Defense official says some military personnel assisting first responders with moving civilians to secured locations. by jamillah.knowles 12:35 AM Comment ↑ 0 U.S. Defense official says about 25 U.S. military personnel were in Bamako at the time of the hotel incident. by jamillah.knowles 12:34 AM Comment ↑ 0 U.S. Defense official says no formal request yet for U.S. military assistance in Mali hotel incident by jamillah.knowles 12:32 AM Comment ↑ 0 Security forces drive near the Radisson hotel in Bamako, Mali, November 20, 2015. Gunmen shouting Islamic slogans attacked a luxury hotel full of foreigners in Mali's capitalBamako early on Friday morning, taking 170 people hostage, a senior security source and the hotel's operator said. REUTERS/Adama Diarra Gunmen attack luxury hotel in Mali capital, 170 taken hostage BAMAKO, Nov 20 (Reuters) - Islamist gunmen stormed a luxury hotel packed with foreigners in Mali's capital Bamako on Friday, taking 170 hostages in a former French colony that has been battling rebels allied to al Qaeda for several years. A senior security source said some of the hostages had been freed after being made to recite verses from the Koran. The French newspaper Le Monde quoted the Malian security ministry as saying at least three hostages had been killed. The raid on the Radisson Blu hotel, which lies just west of the city centre near government ministries and diplomatic offices in the former French colony, comes a week after Islamic State militants killed 129 people in Paris. The identity of the Bamako gunmen, or the group to which they belong, is not known. Read more. by jamillah.knowles 12:29 AM Comment ↑ 6 Radisson Blu says 136 still in Mali hotel following attack BAMAKO, Nov 20 (Reuters) - Some 124 guests and 12 employees remained inside the Radisson Blu hotel in Mali's capital on Friday hours after suspected Islamist gunmen attacked the building and took 170 people hostage, the company said in a statement. "Our highest concern is the safety of all our guests and employees in the hotel. We are in constant contact with the authorities there and will share further information with you when we have it," a statement on the hotel's website said. by jamillah.knowles 12:29 AM Comment ↑ 0 Eighty hostages freed as special forces storm Mali hotel BAMAKO, Nov 20 (Reuters) - Eighty hostages held by Islamist gunmen have been freed from a luxury hotel in Mali's capital as government special forces moved floor by floor to clear the building, Mali's state broadcaster and a security source. "The attackers are still inside. We're hearing gunfire from time to time," said a witness outside the Radisson Blu hotel. by jamillah.knowles 12:24 AM Comment ↑ 0 Heavy gunfire heard from inside hotel in Mali capital where special forces are seeking to free hostages - witness by jamillah.knowles 12:21 AM Comment ↑ 0 124 guests, 13 staff still inside Radisson Blu hotel in Mali capital following gun attack - company statement by jamillah.knowles 12:16 AM Comment ↑ 0 U.S. Special Forces assisting in Mali hotel rescue - CNN by jamillah.knowles 12:08 AM Comment ↑ 0 Hostage freed from Mali hotel says attackers spoke English CONAKRY, Nov 20 (Reuters) - A famous Guinean singer who was among 170 people taken hostage on Friday by Islamist gunmen in the Radisson Blu hotel in Mali's capital, Bamako, said he heard attackers in the next room speaking English. "I heard them say in English 'Did you load it?', 'Let's go'," singer Sékouba 'Bambino' Diabate, who was freed by Malian security forces, told Reuters in Conakry. "I wasn't able to see them because in these kinds of situations it's hard." by jamillah.knowles 12:02 AM Comment ↑ 6 PARIS, Nov 20 (Reuters) - Fifty elite armed French police officers will head to Bamako on Friday after Islamist gunmen attacked a luxury hotel and took hostages in the Malian capital, a gendarmerie spokesman said. "The departure is imminent," said the spokesman. Forty of the men are from the GIGN, (National Gendarmerie Intervention Group), an elite armed group trained to intervene in such circumstances. The other 10 are forensic and criminal experts, he said. They are going "to advise and support Malian security forces in terms of intervention," an interior ministry spokesman said. by jamillah.knowles 11:58 PM yesterday Comment ↑ 0 Obama briefed on Mali attack by security advisor: White House official U.S. President Barack Obama has been briefed by his national security advisor on an attack and hostage incident at a luxury hotel in Mali's capital, a White House official said on Friday. Obama, who is currently in Malaysia, had asked his team to keep him apprised of the ongoing situation, having spoken to National Security Advisor Susan Rice, the official told reporters in Kuala Lumpur, where he is attending a regional summit. More. by jamillah.knowles 11:49 PM yesterday Comment ↑ 0 Still image from video shows the lobby of the Radisson hotel in Bamako, Mali, November 20, 2015. REUTERS/REUTERS TV by jamillah.knowles 11:20 PM yesterday Comment ↑ 0 Turkish Prime Minister Davutoglu says five Turkish Airlines crew rescued from Mali hotel, authorities in contact with two others. by jamillah.knowles 11:13 PM yesterday Comment ↑ 3 Hostage freed from Radisson Blu hotel in Mali capital says he heard attackers speaking English. by jamillah.knowles 11:07 PM yesterday Comment ↑ 1 Air France says crew staying at besieged Bamako hotel are safe PARIS, Nov 20 (Reuters) - Twelve Air France crew members staying at a hotel in Bamako where Islamist gunmen had taken hostages are now safe, the French airline said on Friday. As a precaution, Air France flights from and to Bamako for Friday have been cancelled, it said. by jamillah.knowles 10:56 PM yesterday Comment ↑ 1 Still image from video show a hostage rushed out from the Radisson hotel in Bamako, Mali, November 20, 2015. REUTERS/REUTERS TV by jamillah.knowles 10:55 PM yesterday Comment ↑ 0 Eighty hostages freed so far from luxury hotel in Mali capital amid special forces operation - State Broadcaster by jamillah.knowles 10:48 PM yesterday Comment ↑ 10 < Newest 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 ... Oldest > Powered by ScribbleLive Content Marketing Software Platform World News Photo Commandos storm luxury Mali hotel attacked by Islamists, dozens freed BAMAKO Malian commandos stormed a luxury hotel in Bamako on Friday after Islamist gunmen took 170 people including many foreigners hostage in the capital of the former French colony, which has been battling rebels allied to al Qaeda for several years. | Video Tapped phone led Paris attack leader to his death | Video Obama says summit to focus on Islamic State militancy Russian, Syrian, jets bomb Islamic State-held eastern Syria: monitor » More News Our Flagship financial information platform incorporating Reuters Insider An ultra-low latency infrastructure for electronic trading and data distribution ============================================ Where Does ISIS Get All Those Tanks, Weapons And Shiny New Toyota Trucks? U.S. Treasury Dept. wonders By Elizabeth Parker Global Research, November 19, 2015 Reverb Press 8 October 2015 ISIS Toyotas Yikes! Those evil, marauding terrorists from ISIS are still at large, but fear not: ISIS can’t escape from the U.S. and our allies for long. And when we get ’em, we’re going to kick their cartoonist/woman/gay/Christian-hating Jihadi butts from here until Sunday. There’s just one problem. If we’re at war with ISIS, why do we keep supplying them with tanks, weapons, Humvees and shiny new Toyota trucks? CNN reports: “They’re hard to miss. Packed with ISIS fighters and heavy weapons, Toyota pickup trucks and SUV’s are featured prominently in ISIS propaganda videos.” According to ABC, the U.S. Treasury Dept.’s Terror Financing unit has finally taken notice of the endless parades of shiny, new Toyota trucks starring in ISIS’s propaganda videos, and they’ve launched an investigation. Toyota’s U.S. spokesman Ed Lewis told reporters this is part of a larger inquiry into supply chains and capital flows in the Middle East. Lewis promised Toyota’s full cooperation, and assures us that they’d never sell to terrorists. “Toyota has a strict policy to not sell vehicles to potential purchasers who may use or modify them for paramilitary or terrorist activities, and we have procedures and contractual commitments in place to help prevent our products from being diverted for unauthorized military use.” Whew. What a relief. Toyota trucks: The jihadists’ truck of choice. CNN tracked down Jonathan Schanzer — who used to track terrorist finances for the U.S. Treasury Dept. and who’s now with the Foundation for Defense of Democracies — to find out more. Schanzer explained that rugged outdoorsmen and off-roaders aren’t the only ones who love their Toyota trucks: “Toyotas is the truck that Jihadists choose for when they want to go to war. It’s the same thing with Kalashnikovs [Russian automatic rifles more commonly known in the U.S. as AK-47s].” And how to these ISIS terrorists get their hands on these bad boys? Schanzer suspects they just boldly walk into the car dealerships and pay cash! “I think they’re buying them, probably, through formal channels. They’re probably going right into the dealerships and purchasing them, and not identifying as ISIS. Who would?” Oh, and although Toyotas are the Jihadist’s truck of choice, they won’t object to a Ford or two. We’d love to see the look on this U.S. plumber’s face after seeing what Schanzer suspects ISIS picked up at an auction. As if to thumb their noses at us, they didn’t even bother to remove the former owner’s information from the front passenger side’s door. Schanzer adds ISIS’s avid Toyota truck acquisition is just one example of how ISIS operates like “a combination of a mafia gang and a major corporation.” In other words, like a major corporation. Here’s the video with CNN’s report. ISIS also has tons of U.S. weapons, vehicles and other military gear. Toyota trucks aren’t all ISIS has managed to buy, capture or scavenge from us. In June, CNBC reported that so far we’ve accidentally furnished the Islamic State with at least $219.7 million worth of weapons, vehicles and other military supplies and gear — and that’s just the stuff we know about. Based on various reports, CNBC came up with the following laundry list of supplies the U.S. has so kindly provided to ISIS so far. ◾2,300 Humvee armored vehicles at $70,000 each: $16 million ◾40 M1A1 Abram tanks at $4.3 million each: $172 million ◾52 M198 Howitzer mobile gun systems at $527,337 each: $2.7 million ◾74,000 Army machine guns at $4,000 each: $29 million TOTAL: $219.7 MILLION in military weapons, vehicles, and other supplies and gear for ISIS. How does the Islamic State get hold of all these U.S. weapons? We deliver them, either directly or through the tattered remnants of Iraq’s military. Jeremy Salt, a political analyst in Ankara, Turkey, gives RT.Com quite the scathing earful: “Do you think the Islamic State’s advance would have been so successful without access to this U.S. military hardware by mistake, by default? Let me just briefly revise the history of American blunder over the past couple of years with regard to weapons ending up in the hands of Islamic State.” Salt then reminded us of our nation’s major blunders for supplying weapons to ISIS for the past couple of years. ◾Accidental air-dropping of weapons and supplies intended for the Syrian Kurds into Islamic State territory. ◾This didn’t just happen once, it happened several times. ◾Weapons and supplies seized by ISIS during the falls of Mosul (Iraq), Ramadi (Iraq), AND Palmyra (Syria). Salt doesn’t even bother explaining how the George W. Bush administration created ISIS by invading Iraq on false pretenses and chasing off all those heavily armed and well-trained Baathist soldiers. But he does ask how it’s even possible that U.S. intelligence and the military — both of which are among the most sophisticated in the world — could have possibly NOT seen what was coming. What Salt says here about ISIS’s routing of Palmyra also applies to the sack of Mosul and Ramadi. “Are we seriously to believe the United States couldn’t see them coming? Didn’t see those pickup trucks racing across the Syrian Desert? When they create massive plumes of dust, for one thing? Then they get to Palmyra, and they take over the city.” Salt has a point. How could we have possibly missed miles of vehicles chock-full of masked ISIS militants waving guns and black flags while churning up choking clouds of desert dust visible from miles around? It’s almost as though we’ve ignored all this on purpose. As for President Barack Obama, he’s made some smart moves. But how can he slam the brakes on a runaway crazy train that’s been lurching headlong for decades? After all, Reagan’s the one who armed and trained Al Qaeda back when they fought the former USSR as the Mujahideen resistance fighters. Also, we helped Saddam Hussein take power in Iraq in 1963, and Hussein was on the CIA’s payroll since at least 1959. And then we overthrew him and allowed the region to devolve into chaos because George W. Bush isn’t into “nation building.” Here’s the video with the news report from RT on ISIS’s acquisition of U.S. military supplies, weapons, gear and vehicles.

Algeria toll rises as attack claimed for al Qaeda

Algeria toll rises as attack claimed for al Qaeda Sun, Jan 20 23:46 PM EST 1 of 18 By Lamine Chikhi ALGIERS, Algeria (Reuters) - The death toll has risen to at least 48 hostages killed during a four-day siege at a gas plant deep in the Sahara as a veteran Islamist fighter claimed responsibility on behalf of al Qaeda for the attack. Prime Minister Abdelmalek Sellal is expected to give details at a Monday news conference about one of the worst international hostage crises in decades, which left American, British, French, Japanese, Norwegian and Romanian workers dead or missing. A security source said on Sunday Algerian troops had found the bodies of 25 hostages, raising the number of militants and their captives killed to at least 80. He said six militants were captured alive and troops were still searching for others. One-eyed veteran Islamist fighter Mokhtar Belmokhtar claimed responsibility on Sunday for the attack on behalf of al Qaeda. "We in al Qaeda announce this blessed operation," he said in a video, according to Sahara Media, a regional website. He said about 40 attackers participated in the raid, roughly matching the government's figures for fighters killed and captured. The fighters swooped out of the desert and seized the base on Wednesday, capturing a plant that produces 10 percent of Algeria's natural gas exports, as well as a nearby residential barracks. They demanded an end to French air strikes against Islamist fighters in neighboring Mali that had begun five days earlier. However, U.S. and European officials doubt such a complex raid could have been organized quickly enough to have been conceived as a direct response to the French military intervention. The siege turned bloody on Thursday when the Algerian army opened fire saying fighters were trying to escape with their prisoners. Survivors said Algerian forces blasted several trucks in a convoy carrying both hostages and their captors. Nearly 700 Algerian workers and more than 100 foreigners escaped, mainly on Thursday when the fighters were driven from the residential barracks. Some captors remained holed up in the industrial complex until Saturday when they were overrun. The bloodshed has strained Algeria's relations with its Western allies, some of whom have complained about being left in the dark while the decision to storm the compound was being taken. Nevertheless, Britain and France both defended the Algerian military action. "It's easy to say that this or that should have been done. The Algerian authorities took a decision and the toll is very high but I am a bit bothered ... when the impression is given that the Algerians are open to question," said French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius. "They had to deal with terrorists."

British Prime Minister David Cameron said in a televised statement: "Of course people will ask questions about the Algerian response to these events, but I would just say that the responsibility for these deaths lies squarely with the terrorists who launched this vicious and cowardly attack. "We should recognize all that the Algerians have done to work with us and to help and coordinate with us. I'd like to thank them for that. We should also recognize that the Algerians too have seen lives lost among their soldiers."

Algeria had given a preliminary death toll of 55 people killed - 23 hostages and 32 militants - on Saturday and said it would rise as more bodies were found. The security source said that toll did not include the bodies of 25 hostages found on Sunday, which meant the total number of captives killed - foreign and local - was at least 48. The search was not over, and more could yet be found, he said. Among foreigners confirmed dead by their home countries were three Britons, one American and two Romanians. The missing include at least 10 Japanese, five Norwegians, three other Britons, and a British resident. The security source said at least one Frenchman was also among the dead. LAST WORDS? Alan Wright, now safe at home in Scotland, said he had escaped with a group of Algerian and foreign workers after hiding for a day and a night. While hiding inside the compound, he managed to call his wife at home with their two daughters. "She asked if I wanted to speak to Imogen and Esme, and I couldn't because I thought, I don't want my last ever words to be in a crackly satellite phone, telling a lie, saying you're OK when you're far from OK," he recalled to Sky News. Despite the incident, Algeria is determined to press on with its energy industry. Oil Minister Youcef Yousfi visited the site and said physical damage was minor, state news service APS reported. The plant would start back up in two days, he said. The Islamists' assault has tested Algeria's relations with the outside world and exposed the vulnerability of multinational oil operations in the Sahara. Algeria, scarred by the civil war with Islamist insurgents in the 1990s which claimed 200,000 lives, insisted from the start of the crisis there would be no negotiation in the face of terrorism. France especially needs close cooperation from Algeria to crush Islamist rebels in northern Mali. (Additional reporting by Balazs Koranyi in Oslo, Estelle Shirbon and David Alexander in London, Brian Love in Paris and Daniel Flynn in Dakar; Writing by Peter Graff; Editing by Sophie Hares and Myra MacDonald) =========================== Insight: Mystery Canadian coordinated Algeria gas field attack, premier says Mon, Jan 21 12:40 PM EST 1 of 3 By Lamine Chikhi ALGIERS (Reuters) - The Islamist attack on the sprawling desert gas complex in southern Algeria that triggered one of the worst hostage crises in years was conceived in Mali and coordinated by a mystery Canadian named only as Chedad, the Algerian prime minister said. Five days after about 40 jihadist fighters raided the facility not far from the Libyan border and Algeria responded with a full-on military operation to kill or capture them, a picture of what happened is emerging. While some hostages escaped in the early stages of the crisis, hopes soon faded for dozens of others once the army decided to take on the raiders. Workers from the United States, Britain, France, Japan, Romania, Norway and the Philippines were either dead or missing, with the overall death toll among hostages and militants put at 67 and potentially rising by up to five. Those who escaped had harrowing tales to tell. One Briton recounted how the attackers had strapped Semtex plastic explosive around his neck, bound his hands and taped his mouth. Another man hid for more than a day and a half under his bed as jihadist fighters searched the workers' residential complex. Algerian Prime Minister Abdelmalek Sellal said the plot had been hatched in war-ravaged Mali and the attackers had traveled through Niger and Libya before slipping into Algeria. The jihadists were said to come from Egypt, Mauritania, Niger, Tunisia, Mali, Algeria and, in one case, from Canada. The Canadian, identified initially as Chedad, was coordinating the raiders, Sellal said. The In Amenas gas plant probably felt impregnable to those who worked there - fenced in, hundreds of miles from anywhere and with the Algerian army patrolling its desert approaches. That was a mirage. Libya, an ex-police state turned arms bazaar and now open for jihad, lies just 50 miles away. At least some of the Islamist guerrillas who stormed in before dawn on Wednesday had driven along smugglers' tracks across the Libyan border, an Algerian security official told Reuters, citing evidence from mobile phones traced to the militants. NINE TOYOTAS The militants arrived in nine Toyotas with Libyan plates and painted in the colors of Sonatrach, the Algerian oil and gas company that has a share in the plant, according to the Algerian daily El Khabar. The ease with which they entered the fortified housing compound and nearby natural gas plant left Algerians in little doubt the gunmen had allies among people at the site. "They had local cooperation, I'm sure, maybe from drivers or security guards, who helped the terrorists get into the base," was the immediate reaction of Anis Rahmani, editor of Algeria's Ennahar newspaper and a writer on security issues who said he was briefed by officials. Sellal confirmed that a driver who had formerly worked at the plant had been supplying information to the raiders. Locally hired workers who escaped told Reuters of seeing the gunmen moving around the facility with confidence, apparently familiar with its layout and well prepared. The militants said they launched the raid to halt French military intervention in neighboring Mali, which began earlier this month, however the link is not yet clear. It is possible the attack would have happened anyway, or that the French military operation provided a trigger to carry out an attack based on preparations made earlier. First word of trouble came crackling over a walkie-talkie to the communications room at In Amenas, where a 27-year-old radio operator called Azedine logged a contact with a bus driver who, at 5:45 a.m. (0445 GMT), left to take some foreigners to the airstrip at the town of In Amenas, some 50 km (30 miles) away. "Moments after the bus left, I heard shooting, a lot of shooting, and then nothing," Azedine told Reuters on Friday. BUS SKIRMISH Two people, one British and one Algerian, were killed on two buses heading for the airport. The Briton was identified as a Gulf war veteran who had been in the French Foreign Legion and was working for a security company. Sellal said the raiders planned to seize the foreign passengers, but came under fire from soldiers guarding them. It is not clear whether that incident was part of the plan that secured the militants access to the compound. Almost immediately after the bus skirmish, they were inside, in at least three vehicles. They shot an Algerian guard but he was able to raise the alarm before dying, Sellal said. People who have worked at the site say there was normally an overnight curfew, leaving it unclear how the gunmen were able to get so close before being challenged. Their initial approach may have been well off the main roads. Freed hostages spoke of frightened people staying in their offices or hiding in their dormitories. Azedine saw a gunman put on the ID badge of a French supervisor who had been shot dead. A French catering firm employee spent 40 hours cowering alone under his bed, terrified he would be killed. Alexandre Berceaux said he had survived by staying in his room away from other foreigners, hidden behind a barricade of wooden planks and having Algerian colleagues sneak him food and water. "I was completely isolated ... I was afraid. I could see myself already ending up in a wooden box," Berceaux said in a radio interview. Rapidly the area was surrounded by heavily armed Algerian troops, with tanks, armored vehicles and helicopter gunships from a nearby military base. Sellal said there had been an attempt to negotiate but it had collapsed over the hostage-takers' demands. SMUGGLERS' TRAILS People who know the site, operated by Britain's BP and Statoil of Norway along with Algeria's Sonatrach, said a barracks housing several hundred soldiers lies along the three km (two miles) of road separating the accommodation compound from the industrial plant. A former senior Algerian government official said guards appeared to have been caught napping: "They have all kinds of equipment, detailed surveillance, cameras," he said. "They were caught maybe at the right time, at five in the morning." But he also acknowledged the militants may have had help among the local workforce: "Out of 700 Algerians, I am sure they will find a couple who will cooperate. It always happens." Militant leaders like Taher Ben Cheneb, said by officials to have been one of the commanders of the operation and to have been killed on Thursday, have stoked resentment among southerners at the way foreigners and northerners dominate the better paid jobs in the oil fields. Ben Cheneb, described as a high school maths teacher in his 50s, led the Movement of the Islamic Youth in the South. Security expert Rahmani said he joined forces for this operation with followers of Mokhtar Belmokhtar, a veteran of Afghan wars and a leading figure in Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) who recently formed a new group named Mulathameen. Belmokhtar, the overall commander but not present during the attack, claimed responsibility on behalf of al Qaeda for a raid he called a "blessed operation". While Ben Cheneb's group appeared to have moved on In Amenas from a base inside Algeria, Rahmani said, another group led by Abu El Bara appeared to have come in from Libya. ONE-EYED JACK The group's field commander was a veteran fighter from Niger called Abdul Rahman al-Nigeri, Mauritanian media reported. He led his men into the gas plant, where he is believed to have been killed, while Abu El Bara died at the residential complex. Noting the one-eyed Belmokhtar's reputation as a cigarette smuggler as well as a holy warrior - locals call him "Mister Marlboro" - Rahmani added: "They use the same back roads as the smugglers. You need a perfect knowledge of the Sahara to do it. Canadian diplomat Robert Fowler, who was captured by Belmokhtar in Niger in 2008 and released after four months, nicknamed him "Jack" so as to be able to discuss him privately with fellow captives. Belmokhtar in turn referred to his prisoners as apostates and infidels. More than a decade after Algeria's civil war killed some 200,000 people, Islamist fighters roam the sandy wastes of Africa's biggest country, mixing smuggling and kidnapping for ransom with opposition to the political establishment that has ruled in Algiers since French colonists left half a century ago. These groups have been energized by the return of heavily armed ethnic Tuaregs and others from Libya, where they fought as mercenaries for Muammar Gaddafi until his overthrow in 2011. The new Libyan authorities are struggling to control their own deep south and it provides a launchpad for raids across the frontier. ARMY ASSAULT While security forces seek to impose control, the tracts of sand are vast, borders among the half dozen countries around the desert are unmarked, and the big money that can be made from illicit trade or kidnapping tourists and Western engineers can be used to buy favors from ill-paid officials. Al Qaeda says it is fighting for a Muslim caliphate that transcends artificial borders in the Maghreb set by colonial powers. Once inside the facility, militants, including bearded, ragged fighters and others in more urban dress, herded groups of Westerners together. Hundreds of Algerians were guarded more loosely. One Algerian worker told Reuters the gunmen said they were only interested in killing "Christians and infidels". Algeria told Western governments, which voiced dismay at the storming of the facility on Thursday, that troops moved in only because guerrillas were trying to leave with hostages, hoping to reach Mali. The captors loaded hostages into a convoy. Special forces backed by helicopters moved in around noon, some 30 hours after the plant was seized. In what appears to have been the deadliest part of the siege, as described by the family of Irish survivor Stephen McFaul, government forces bombed the convoy, blasting apart four vehicles full of hostages. McFaul was in a fifth truck which crashed. He dashed for his life and escaped, and believes all those in the other vehicles were killed. McFaul told how the attackers had turned him into a human bomb, strapping Semtex around his neck. Another Briton, Garry Barlow, called his wife from within the site during the attack and said: "I'm sat here at my desk with Semtex strapped to my chest." During Thursday, most of the hundreds of people at the site were able to flee, some of them Westerners posing as Algerians. "We cut the wire with clippers and ran for it, all together, about 50 of us with the three foreigners," one man was quoted as saying by The Times. By Friday night, it remained unclear how many of the gunmen and their hostages were still in the facility. The operation at the larger, residential compound was over and troops were now surrounding the industrial site, where Nigeri and his men were reported to be holding a group of hostages. But this left Western governments and intelligence officials, long used to difficult relations with Algeria which is proud of its sovereignty, desperate for hard facts about the fate of their nationals. Western capitals seemed to be in the dark when the dramatic and bloody final assault came on Saturday morning. Algerian soldiers shot dead 11 gunmen who had executed seven foreign hostages, according to the state news agency. The militants were then found to have booby-trapped the gas complex with explosives, which the army had to defuse. The operation was over, authorities said, but mopping up went on for hours, with dozens more bodies found and many questions still to be answered. (Additional reporting by Alex Lawler and Jessica Donati in London, Writing by Alastair Macdonald and; Giles Elgood, editing by Peter Millership) =============