Islam Times - Russia's Putin urges international cooperation against terrorism

Islam Times - President Vladimir Putin of Russia has called for a joint global effort against terrorism, in the wake of a terrorist attack on a luxury hotel in Mali where six Russians were among the victims.

On Friday, armed men carried out a nine-hour siege at the luxury Radisson Blu Hotel in the Malian capital, Bamako. Over 20 people, including six employees of the Russian regional airline Volga-Dnepr, were killed in the incident.

Gunmen raided the hotel early in the morning, shooting in the corridors and taking 170 guests and staff hostage. The assault ended when Malian and international troops stormed the place.

The attack prompted the Malian government to announce a 10-day nationwide state of emergency on Saturday in addition to three days of national mourning.

The al-Qaeda-affiliated Mali-based al-Mourabitoun group, led by Algerian militant Mokhtar Belmokhtar, claimed responsibility for the deadly incident.

In a message of condolence to his Malian counterpart Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, President Putin said the “widest international cooperation” is needed to tackle global terrorism.

Earlier this month, Putin vowed to catch the Daesh Takfiri militants behind bringing down one of Russia’s passenger planes over Egypt. He said Russia would intensify airstrikes against militants in Syria, after Moscow confirmed that a bomb had destroyed the aircraft.

The Russian Metrojet airliner, which was flying from Egypt’s Sharm el-Sheik to Moscow on October 31, crashed in the restive Sinai Peninsula and killed all the 224 people on board. Daesh claimed responsibility for the incident.

Russia has been conducting air raids against Daesh and other terrorists in Syria since September 30 at the request of the Damascus government. Moscow says the campaign is aimed at helping the Syrian army in its anti-terror fight and also preventing the return of more than 2,000 Russian nationals who have joined the ranks of Daesh in Syria.