Mali's special forces early on Saturday rescued four people who hid in a hotel for nearly 24 hours after Islamic extremists stormed the building and launched a rare attack far from their northern strongholds that killed nine people, officials said.
Three attackers were also killed in the fighting.
The four rescued UN employees are two
South Africans, a Russian and a Ukrainian, said UN
mission in Mali spokeswoman Radhia Achouri.
"Our contractors survived because at no time was their presence discovered by the terrorists in the hotel," she said adding there was not much resistance Saturday morning during the rescue. The four will soon go to Bamako,
the capital, she said.