Obama: Mali attack ‘stiffens resolve’

Mali Attack

In this image made available by Malikahere.com security personnel, right, attend close to the scene of an attack on a hotel in Bamako, Mali Friday Nov. 20, 2015. Men shouting “God is great” and armed with guns and throwing grenades stormed into the Radisson Blu Hotel in Mali’s capital Friday morning. AP

BAMAKO, Mali — President Barack Obama says the deadly assault on a hotel in Mali is yet another reminder that the “scourge of terrorism” threatens many nations.

And he says the “barbarity” shown by Islamic extremists at the Radisson hotel in the capital of Bamako “only stiffens our resolve to meet this challenge.”

The assault on the hotel came exactly one week after attacks coordinated by the Islamic State group left 130 people dead across Paris.

READ: Hotel attack in Mali’s capital leaves at least 27 dead

At least 20 were killed in Mali, including at least one American.

Obama says the US is working to account for Americans who may have been at the hotel. He also extended condolences to families of the victims, and thanked the security forces who responded.

He spoke in Malaysia during a regional summit.

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