A MASKED gunman killed five people in a suspected Islamist attack on a restaurant popular with expatriates in Mali, west Africa, yesterday, authorities said.
A Belgian security officer with the EU delegation in the country and a French citizen were among those killed after a lone attacker sprayed bullets at revellers in Bamako, the capital, the early hours of the morning.
“This is a terrorist attack. It’s absolutely clear,” a security official said.
A young Malian woman, a security guard and a policeman were also killed. Nine people, including several foreign workers,
were injured.
The attack at La Terrasse bar was the first of its kind in the capital in recent years. While the north of the country, which French forces helped take back from control by Islamist militias in 2013, has suffered a number of attacks, the south has hitherto remained relatively calm. Fears are now rising that the capital could be targeted by further attacks.
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One witness said the attacker shouted “Allahu Akbar” before opening fire.
“We were laughing, talking. Suddenly these people came inside,” said Reidun Runsten, a Swedish health worker who witnessed the attack. “I was very close to the bar, and we just went under there. We didn’t move because they were shooting a lot.”
She said she then looked up to see the body of a young Malian woman on the floor next to her, with blood coming from her neck.
Police said two people had been detained in connection with the killings.