At least 27 people are feared dead after Islamist extremists with guns and grenades stormed a luxury hotel in Mali, SkyNews reported on Friday.

The TV channel attributed the information to UN peacekeepers, who have seen the bodies in the Radisson Blu hotel in Mali’s capital Bamako.  

Special forces stormed the hotel and escorted guests out.

By late Friday afternoon, no hostages were believed to remain in the building, though attackers still were inside, according to CNN.

The hotel is popular with Western tourists, airline staff, and local dignitaries.  

According to a Malian army officer quoted by CNN, 10 bodies have been found in a hall of the hotel, and attackers still are inside the building.

There are no more hostages in the hotel, the officer said.

According to a Malian security ministry spokesman the special forces are still fighting to dislodge Islamist gunmen from the upper floors of the hotel, Reuters reported.

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