Three Europeans were shot dead at a nightclub in Mali’s capital early Saturday in a suspected terror attack that came with the government at a key stage of peace talks with militants in the restive north.
At least one gunman entered the club in an area of Bamako popular with expatriates shortly after midnight and opened fire, according to police. “This is a terrorist attack, although we’re waiting for clarification. Provisionally, there are four dead — one French national, a Belgian and two Malians,” a policeman told AFP, adding that the dead included a police officer who had been passing by the restaurant. A third European, whose nationality was not immediately clear, died on arrival at the Gabriel Toure hospital in Bamako, a source there said, adding that eight people were wounded. Firefighters carried the body of the French national from La Terrasse, a restaurant and nightclub in Bamako’s lively Hippodrome district, according to an AFP correspondent who witnessed the aftermath. In the moments after the attack, the body of the police officer and a guard of a private home could be seen in the street outside, while a little further on the body of the Belgian national was also visible. Dozens of police officers secured the area but the few witnesses to the attack initially refused to testify, fearing reprisals.
At least one gunman entered the club in an area of Bamako popular with expatriates shortly after midnight and opened fire, according to police. “This is a terrorist attack, although we’re waiting for clarification. Provisionally, there are four dead — one French national, a Belgian and two Malians,” a policeman told AFP, adding that the dead included a police officer who had been passing by the restaurant. A third European, whose nationality was not immediately clear, died on arrival at the Gabriel Toure hospital in Bamako, a source there said, adding that eight people were wounded. Firefighters carried the body of the French national from La Terrasse, a restaurant and nightclub in Bamako’s lively Hippodrome district, according to an AFP correspondent who witnessed the aftermath. In the moments after the attack, the body of the police officer and a guard of a private home could be seen in the street outside, while a little further on the body of the Belgian national was also visible. Dozens of police officers secured the area but the few witnesses to the attack initially refused to testify, fearing reprisals.
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