'Strong suspicion' Mali hotel gunmen linked to jihadists

A deadly attack and hostage-taking at a Mali hotel is believed to be the work of an Islamist organisation with ties to an Al-Qaeda linked group, investigators said today.
Although no-one has yet claimed responsibility for the attack, investigators found phone numbers and addresses on the bodies of the "terrorists" which suggested they belonged to an Islamist group.
The hostage crisis, which began early Friday, ended nearly 24 hours later when Malian troops stormed the Byblos Hotel in the central town of Sevare.
The Malian government said four soldiers, five UN workers and four "terrorists" were killed. Among the victims were two Ukrainians, a Nepalese and a South African, according to the UN mission in Mali.

Investigators said there were "strong suspicions" the hostage-takers were from the newly-formed Macina Liberation Front (FLM), an Islamist extremist group drawn from the Fulani people from the centre of the country.
"Investigators found telephone numbers and address on the bodies of the terrorists... Which supports the FLM theory," a security source said, indicating that an identity card found on one of the bodies showed he was from a the Macina area.

"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," she said.

The west African country has seen a surge in jihadist violence in recent months despite a peace deal signed in June.
The FLM, which emerged earlier this year, has claimed a number of attacks, some targeting security forces in central Mali.
It is considered linked to Ansar Dine -- Arabic for "defenders of the faith" -- one of the groups that took control of Mali's vast arid north in April 2012.