Hostage freed from Mali hotel says attackers spoke English

Bamako, Mali: 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."

Eighty hostages freed as special forces storm Mali hotel

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.