Mali soldiers in the back of a pickup truck. (AFP)
Bamako - An intelligence official says soldiers have pursued extremists who entered a hotel in Mali's capital and hung a black jihadi flag from the roof before escaping into the neighbourhood.
Modibo Naman Traore, spokesperson for Mali's intelligence services, said on Tuesday that the extremists who went into the Royal Hotel near the airport were not armed.
An official with the United Nations mission in Mali and a soldier with the army said three extremists had been arrested after fleeing. The UN official said the three were sympathisers of Ansar Dine, an extremist group linked to al-Qaeda’s North African branch.
Extremists stormed a luxury hotel in Mali's capital in November 2015, killing 20 people.
