on a hotel in the capital， Bamako ，... by suspected Islamist militants.

The government says 21 people were killed，... including two gunmen，... at the Radisson

Blu hotel. China′s state－run Xinhua news agency says

three Chinese nationals are among the dead. The U.S. State Department said one U.S. citizen

was killed. A Malian jihadi group and a regional branch

of al－Qaeda have claimed responsibility for the attack.

Mali has been fighting Islamist extremists since 2012 when militants took over much of

the north of the country. Local and French forces managed to drive them

out in 2013，... but groups have reemerged in the center of the country in recent months.