Chilling Video of Suicide Bomber Calmly Walking Into Cairo Church

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The bomber walks from the bottom right of the screen, fairly rapidly but calmly. It looks as if the man under the tree at lower left may have tried to say something or challenge him but the bomber keeps walking into the small courtyard of the Church. For a few seconds there is calm and then a tremendous explosion blows out the windows and part of the roof.

According to the Egyptian authorities, the bomber was killed in the explosion. If true, the black-clad man seen running out of the church a few seconds later is obviously not the bomber.

From the Daily Mail via Pamela Geller:

Haunting footage captures an ISIS suicide bomber calmly strolling into a Cairo church before killing 25 Christians in a savage attack

• Abu Abdallah al-Masri detonated a 12kg bomb killing 25 on Sunday
• Six children and 19 adults, mostly women, killed and 49 were wounded 
• Now the Egyptian government has released footage showing the bombing

By Charlie Moore For Mailonline 

PUBLISHED: 12:10 EST, 13 December 2016 | UPDATED: 05:18 EST, 14 December 2016 

Horrifying footage showing the moment an ISIS suicide bomber killed 25 Christians at a Cairo church has been released by the Egyptian government.

Abu Abdallah al-Masri detonated a 12kg bomb targeting Cairo's main Coptic Christian community, killing six children and 19 adults who were mostly women.
A further 49 were wounded in the savage attack on Sunday. 

Now, the Egyptian government has released footage showing the bombing which appears to capture the 22-year-old terrorist in the act.

The video is a recording of CCTV footage from outside a chapel adjacent to St. Mark's Cathedral, seat of Egypt's ancient Coptic Orthodox Church.

It shows a dark figure crossing the street and walking through the gates of the church. 

Moments later, the blast sends clouds of dust and debris through the windows. 

It was among the deadliest attacks in recent memory to target Egypt's Coptic minority, which makes up around 10 percent of the population and was largely supportive of the military overthrow of a freely elected Islamist president in 2013. 

El-Sissi led the ouster of President Mohammed Morsi, a senior figure in the now outlawed Muslim Brotherhood group. 

Since then, Islamic militants have carried out scores of attacks, mainly targeting the security forces, while the government has waged a wide-scale crackdown on dissent. 

Small protests were held outside the church in the aftermath of the attack, as Christians accused the government of failing to protect them, a complaint that goes back many years. 

Officials and government supporters have touted the quick identification of the suspected bomber as proof of the efficiency of the security bodies, but Christian activist Nader Shokry said more could have been done to prevent the attack. 

'How did all this planning take place without the security knowing about it?' he said. 'You are saying that this person belongs to a terror group and has been previously arrested... So you should have kept a close eye on him.' 

The Interior Ministry said late Monday that the attacker belonged to a terror cell founded by an Egyptian doctor and funded by Muslim Brotherhood leaders living in exile in Qatar. It said the cell was tasked with staging attacks that would stir sectarian strife. 

But Islamic state has claimed responsibility for the bombing in a statement released on Tuesday. 

Three men and a woman were arrested in connection with Sunday's attack and other suspects were on the run, el-Sissi said. 

The Brotherhood condemned the bombing.

19-Year Old Amjad Ben Sasi, Before Being Shot in the Head by Sharia Police: "Do what you like, I am not apologizing."

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Remember his name

This occurred last December in the ISIS occupied Libyan town of Sirte. I believe it was first reported yesterday in the Sunday Times and was then picked up by the Daily Mail and Italian media. The Times claims that the above photo was taken seconds before the teenager's death.

In a sense, this is a minor story. Thousands of human beings have met the same fate in the last few years. And no doubt many were just as defiant.

Nevertheless, this speaks to us if for no other reason than we appear to have some of the details, including the victim's last words.

A 19-year-old boy has been publicly executed in Libya after he refused four times to repent for swearing. 

Amjad Mohammed Ben Sasi had allegedly blasphemed during a dispute with a neighbour in the coastal city of Sirte. 

He was consequently hauled before an Islamic State Sharia court three times and on each occasion the youth stood his ground. 

'Amjad was a proud and angry young man,' Salah Salem Ben Sasi, the teenager's uncle told The Times. 

'He was fed up with Islamic State rule in Sirte. His attitude was "Do what you like, I am not apologising".' 

But he paid the price for his defiance and on the fourth day was brought into the main square where the blasphemy charge was read aloud to the public. 

Amjad Ben Sasi remained resolute to the end, and when he was asked if he had any final words he turned to the man who was about to kill him and said 'My name will live longer than yours', the uncle recalled. 

'The executioner replied, "We shall see", and shot him twice in the back of the head.' 

Read the rest at the Daily Mail.

Gynogate: Is the Vatican Lying?

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Nothing sexy here. Move along now.

UPDATE (7:40 PM CST, 27 December): Maureen Mullarkey and The Bear just posted. Ms. Mullarkey titles her post "Scrap the Mea Culpa" and adds a bit of detail about how and why her original piece was pulled by the Federalist. She also makes the point that the fact that the Daily Mail has stuck with the story (and I've seen them correct and update stories many a time) lends some credence to the ESAG's account. The Bear promises more material from Dr. Bader and ESAG. I'm sure Dr. Bader is used to people tittering over his chosen profession, but I now wish I hadn't been quite so jokey about the whole thing. It looks like Dr. Bader has been falsely accused of being a liar--by the Pope's spokesman, of all people. Doesn't even the Vatican take the Ninth Commandment seriously, anymore? Or did that go out the door (perhaps when it was opened) for the Jubilee Year of Mercy?

The original story was that a Catholic university overseen by the Vatican would be hosting a conference of aesthetic gynecologists, headed by Dr. Alexandros Bader, a world-renown expert on the G-spot.

Mahound's Paradise posted on this (Warning: the post was sexually explicit), offering some new information but also reprinting one of the juicer news stories on the conference from the Daily Mail.

The original story was based on claims made in promotional materials from the European Society of Aesthetic Gynecologists (ESAG). Essentially there were three claims:

• The conference would be held in or at Vatican City.
• Social events would include a tour of the Vatican gardens and an audience with the Pope.
• The precise venue was the Institutum Patristicum Augustinianum.

My post suggested, based on the contents of the materials themselves, that the first claim was exaggeration--the Institute is near St. Peter's but is not technically on Vatican grounds. Indeed, that it was exaggeration was sort of confirmed by a spokeswoman for the ESAG after the story broke.

However, a few days ago, all of the claims were apparently denied by the Director of the Holy See Press Office, Federico Lombardi (English text courtesy of Google Translate):

In some press reports there was talk of a First World Congress organized by the "European Society of Aesthetic Gynecology", which would take place "in the Vatican" in the month of April. 

The material for the program that is in the site intentionally suggests this approach, using the shape of the facade of St. Peter, specifying that participants may attend the general audience and visit the Vatican Gardens, and saying well - in some text - that the conference will take place "in the Vatican." 

In another text on the Site it is said that the conference will take place at the Institute Augustinianum. The Augustinianum denies in the strongest terms. Also not in any way that the organization of such a conference has to do with some Vatican institution or the Holy See.

A few journalists and bloggers who reported the original story then quasi-apologized for their initial enthusiasm, and used the word "hoax." This was done out of admirable motives--in the interests of accuracy even at the expense of looking slightly silly. But I think it is fair to say that they now believe they were too quick to backtrack. One of them--The Bear of St. Corbinian's Bear--decided to do some additional investigation (as we shall see below). 

While it is true that on its official website the ESAG subsequently scrubbed references to "Vatican City", the Vatican related social events and the Institute--the organization now lists the conference as occurring in "Rome"--there are still numerous links to the earlier claims on ESAG's Facebook page, Dr. Bader's Facebook page and some non-ESAG sites related to surgery or medical events.

Note that Lombardi does not deny this and even confirms part of it. But he essentially implies that the ESAG made it all up.

Bear with me as I enter some of it into the record.

This is from the Facebook page of Alma Surgery, announcing the conference and inviting attendees to purchase tickets. Note the claim that ". . . the first 50 registrations (will) attend the audience of Pope Francisco himself" 

This letter from Dr. Bader was removed from the ESAG website, but the ESAG Facebook page still links to it at BlueEvents. Note the reference at the bottom to "the general audience of The Pope" and visits to "the vatican gardens" and "St. Peter's Chapel."

Here is one of the original virtual brochures, describing the venue as "Rome, 20-21 April 2016; Vatican City State, Italy, Rome; Venue Institutum Patristicum Augustinianum". It is still on the ESAG Facebook page.

And this is taken from Dr. Bader's current Facebook page:

So, if it was a hoax, it was a hoax perpetrated by someone inside ESAG--someone who, for example, thought it would be funny to write "Institutum Patristicum Augustinianum" on promotional brochures and forge a letter from Dr. Bader (by, I guess, hacking his Facebook site, among other things) describing that "tour of the vatican gardens" and that "audience."

That possibility is clearly absurd and (as we'll see) has been denied by the ESAG.

A second possibility is that the organizers of the ESAG lied about the Vatican links. There was no contract to use the Institute's conference center and they just made up the bit about the social events. What inscrutable reasons could have motivated them to do this is of course anyone's guess, as if potential attendees--aesthetic gynecologists and associated people--would be more likely to attend a conference on cosmetic surgery if it were held in the conference hall of a Catholic scholarly center dedicated to the study of the Christian Fathers, or as if multi-million dollar surgeons who specialize in "Brazilian Butt-lifting" techniques (from their brochure) would be more likely to come to Rome if they could meet the Pope (though wouldn't some of them demand their money back if they found out that that promise--made by Dr. Bader himself--was a complete fib?).

A third possibility is that the ESAG made arrangements with the proper officials, but due to the embarrassing publicity, the Institute (and whoever is in charge of organizing garden tours and Papal audiences, etc.) cancelled. And now they think it's best to deny everything.

Subsequently, The Bear did the obviously right thing (though it wasn't obvious to me): He actually asked ESAG to comment. Here was the response from Dr. Bader himself:

Dear Mr. [Bear], we had a clear agreement with the Vatican to rent their premises in order to organize the Congress. Recently and in unfair way they regret and escalate the issue just to slip away from their responsibilities. We have evidence and documents to prove this and soon we will come out with an official press release as well as we still keep our rights for all legal actions against all involved parties who defame our Society and me personally. The Congress still will take place on the same dates in a different venue which will be announced soon.

By the way, stay tuned to St. Corbinian's Bear on this:

The Bear has engaged in subsequent communications with Dr. Bader, and expects to report more news soon.

Obviously, either ESAG is lying or the Vatican is. Again, ask yourself why the ESAG of all organizations would make up the Vatican links out of whole cloth and put them in their promotional materials. On the other hand, I suppose it might be claimed that even if the arrangements were initially made, the Vatican is not technically lying now. Saying that the Institute "denies in the strongest terms" that they will host such a conference does not technically contradict the claim that they had initially agreed to do so.

But that would be pharisaical.

Let me offer a charitable hypothesis as to what really happened: The Institute did indeed agree to host the conference and the tour and audience were arranged through the usual channels. Consider that the Institute does host non-religious events--they recently hosted a meeting on climate change--and the Pope has audiences with all sorts of people and groups. The relevant Vatican officials focused on the "surgery" or "surgeons" part, not quite realizing how potentially embarrassing (and non- or even un-Catholic) some of the thing was. Perhaps the ESAG tacitly cooperated here, not going out of its way to emphasize the juicier bits about the conference. (Imagine that they know from experience that they run into resistance whenever they do.) Possibly a few Catholic doctors were mentioned or used as references, etc.

If this hypothesis is true, then to be honest, it doesn't really bother me that the arrangements for the conference were initially made. It was a silly mistake.

It does bother me that they now appear to be lying about it.

But then secrecy and deception are hallmarks of this pontificate, aren't they?

Contrast that with the behavior of those Catholic bloggers who were quick to admit apparent error, even when as one of them put it, it showed them with "egg on their face." That it now appears they weren't in error makes the irony all the richer.

The crisis continues.

NOT Ho Hum! French Teacher Lied About ISIS Attack, Stabbed HIMSELF in Neck and Side!

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Police and emergency vehicles at the scene. Someone's in trouble now.

Maybe he wanted to get out of a staff meeting.

The Daily Mail, again, twelve hours after the original story:

French teacher who claimed he was stabbed by a man 'shouting support for ISIS' admits he LIED and had slashed his own neck

• Teacher stabbed himself in the neck and side, claiming it was an ISIS attack 
• Man had claimed he was attacked by a man who shouted support for ISIS
• He later confessed he lied about the story of the hooded ISIS attacker 
• Victim is now being questioned by police over why he made the false claims 

A kindergarten teacher who claimed he was stabbed in the neck at a school in Paris by a man acting in the name of ISIS has admitted he made up the story. 

The 45-year-old teacher had said he was preparing for one of his classes when he was attacked by a masked man armed with a box cutter and scissors. 

The teacher described how the attacker declared he was acting in the name of the brutal jihadi group ISIS and declared the attack was 'a warning'. 

However the local prosecutor confirmed the teacher had lied and had stabbed himself in the neck and side in his classroom in Aubervilliers, Seine-Saint-Denis. 

The teacher had initially said he was attacked at 7:10am at the Jean Perrin kindergarten in Aubervilliers, situated in the suburb of Seine-Saint-Denis. 

It remains unclear how the 45-year-old obtained the wounds to the neck and the side. He was taken to Lariboisière hospital but his injuries were not thought to be life threatening. 

Questions were raised as to why the attacker would use the deregatory name 'Daesh' if he was claiming he was carrying out the attack for ISIS. 

Police were hunting for the alleged attacker, who the teacher had described as wearing a white t-shirt, gloves and a balaklava. 

France's Education Minister Najat Vallaud-Belkacem has confirmed that additional security will be deployed at schools. 

She described the terrorist threat as being 'real and permanent' and that 'all public places deserve protection, particularly schools'. 

'We will continue to reinforce security measures at schools in a context where schools feel threatened,' she said. 

The ISIS French-language magazine Dar-al-Islam called in its November edition for its followers to kill teachers in the French education system. 

Teachers were described in one ISIS magazine article as 'enemies of Allah' for teaching secularism and 'in open war against the Muslim family.' 

'This education, in the case of France in particular, is a means of propoganda used to impose the corrupt way of thought established by the Judeo-masonry,' it said. 

'Muslims must know the French education system is built against religion and Islam as the only religion of truth cannot cohabit with this fanatic secularism.' 

The false attack comes as Paris remains on high alert after a wave of shootings and suicide bombings at Paris nightspots on November 13 that killed 130 people and left 350 injured. 

Saint-Denis was where Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the mastermind of the deadly Paris attacks, was killed in a dramatic shootout last month. 

In March 2012 jihadist Mohamed Merah killed three children and a teacher outside a Jewish school in an attack which also saw him kill three soldiers. 

A hooded man claiming to be acting for Islamic State attacked a nursery school teacher with a knife-like weapon as he prepared for classes in a school north of Paris, French officials said on Monday.

Ho Hum: Paris Kindergarden Teacher Stabbed in Neck by Man Shouting ISIS Slogans

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Seine-Saint-Denis: Run by Communists, dominated by Muslims

[IMPORTANT: See update on story here]

Welcome to the new normal.

From the Daily Mail:

A kindergarten teacher has been stabbed in the neck at a school in Paris by a man allegedly claiming to be acting in the name of ISIS. 

The 40-year-old teacher was preparing for one of his classes when he was attacked by a masked man armed with a box cutter and scissors, according to Europe1. 

The attacker allegedly claimed he was acting in the name of the brutal jihadi group ISIS before fleeing the scene in Aubervilliers, Seine-Saint-Denis. 

The teacher is receiving treatment in the Lariboisière hospital and is not thought to be in a life threatening condition. 

Police are now hunting for the attacker with anti-terrorist investigators searching for clues behind the man's real identity. 

The shocking attack took place at the Jean Perrin kindergarten in Aubervilliers, situated in the suburb of Seine-Saint-Denis. 

Saint-Denis was where Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the mastermind of the deadly Paris attacks, was killed in a dramatic shootout last month.

WARNING: SEXUALLY EXPLICIT: Augustinian Patristic Institute in Rome (For the Study of the History and Theology of the Church Fathers) to Host Sexy Plastic Surgery Conference. Brazilian Butt Lifting, Anyone?

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The Augustinian Patristic Institute, where the sexy conference will be held

The original story is from the Daily Mail but it can be confirmed at the website of The European Society of Aesthetic Gynecology (ESAG). Before anyone jumps to assumptions or conclusions, here are the facts:

• It's a conference of plastic surgeons that do surgery for women in a couple of different places. You know, there and there.
• While some of the procedures are laudable--attempting to correct the effects of genital mutilation--most are either recreationally sex focused--"G-spot amplification"--or cosmetic and exploitive--"anal whitening," "butt lifting," etc.
• The conference isn't sponsored by the Institute or the Vatican. As far as I can tell, the Augustinian Patristic Institute is simply renting out its conference hall.
• News reports, as well as the ESAG website identify the conference as occurring "in the Vatican" or "in Vatican City." This appears to be either sensationalistic (the news sites) or marketing hype (the ESAG website). The Institute is next to or close by Saint Peter's but not in Vatican City.
• Nevertheless, the gynecological conference promises a "general audience with the Pope," a special mass and a tour of he Vatican gardens. Or, as the site puts it:

The social event will take place in the Vatican City, participants will have the chance to visit the entire city of the Vatican and reach places not everybody can. Delegates will have the chance to attend the general audience of Pope Francisco, the Mass and to visit the Vatican gardens.

• "Reach places not everybody else can." Quite.
• The President of the ESAG as well as the keynote guest, speaker and lecturer is Dr. Alexandros Bader (picture below), a "world renown expert in G-spot enhancement."
• ESAG has locations in Athens, Dubai and London and appears to be mainly made up of plastic-surgeon tycoons catering to wealthy European and Middle-East clients.

Why is this man smiling?

Here are some representative topics, lectures and events:

• The mental cost of changing your appearance 
• The connection between Traditional Gynecology and Cosmetic Gynecology, what we should consider and what to avoid 
• Cosmetic Gynecology: The Indian experience 
• G-Spot amplification, mythes (sic) and facts
• FemiLift and sex theraphy. The new frontier
• Laser Vulvar Bleaching
• One stitch Vaginal Tightening (Video demonstration)
• Brazilian Butt lifting, the S shape technique
• Coffee Break

Here are the advertised "studies" of the Augustinian Patristic Institute, where the conference will be held:

• Bachelor of Theology
• License in Theology and Patristic Studies
• Doctorate in Theology and Patristic Studies
• License in Patristic Studies
• Doctorate in Patristic Studies
• Master's Degree in Augustinian Studies
• Master in Joseph Ratzinger: Studies and Spirituality

And here's the lead blurb from the Augustinian Patristic Institute website:

The Institutum Patristicum Augustinianum of Rome, in cultivating the sacred sciences, especially the thought of the Fathers of the Church, Saint Augustine and his legacy, remains faithful to the age - old tradition of the Augustinian Order which, from the time of its foundation by the Apostolic See in the thirteenth century, has always paid particular attention to serious study. The Augustinians cultivated the sacred disciplines with such commitment that, already in the last few decades of the century which saw their birth, they had come to occupy a foremost position at Paris and at other principal European universities.

No comment

So, what are faithful Catholics to make of all this?

• This does not involve an infallible pronouncement from the Pope.
• Thus, there is no official or formal heresy here. Mark Shea can relax.
• Cha-Ching!

Finally, here is the original Daily Mail piece:

Secrets of the G-spot unravelled… by the Vatican: Catholic university overseen by the Church to host conference about the secrets of the female body

• Augustinian Patristic Institute will host meeting of aesthetic gynaecologists 
• The society's president is world renowned surgeon Dr Alexandros Bader 
• He claims to be able to enhance women's G-spots, improve their sex life 
• Conference delegates will also be greeted to audience with Pope Francis

A Catholic university linked to the Vatican will host a conference of gynaecologists who claim to be able to 'amplify' women's G-spots to kickstart their sex lives. 

The Augustinian Patristic Institute, near St Peter's Square in Rome, will host the first meeting of the European Society of Aesthetic Gynaecology in April next year. 

The society is headed up by Dr Alexandros Bader, a world renowned surgeon, who boasts of being able to 'enhance' a woman's G-spot on his website. 

Topics covered at the landmark conference are said to include the lifting, tightening and bleaching of female genitals. 

Delegates will also discuss the amplification of the G-spot and the O-spot, a point behind the surface which experts claim is more sensitive to pleasure than the G-spot. 

The delegates will also be greeted to an audience with Pope Francis and a walk with in the Vatican gardens, the Times reported. 

They will then take part in a 'hands on course' which features operations on '14 live cases'. 

On his website, Dr Bader wrote: 'G-Spot Enhancement is a revolutionary method which is based on magnifying the G-spot up to four times.' 

He claims this is done by injecting the spot with a special collagen filler which increases sensitivity and the 'intensity, duration and frequency of female orgasms'. 

He added: 'G-Spot Enhancement is a simple, non-intrusive and painless procedure, which takes place in our clinics and lasts some 15 minutes.'

That Story About El Chapo Declaring War on ISIS is a Hoax

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He didn't do it

It's a great story. The only problem is it isn't true.

Here's one version from Fox News Latino. And here's another from Toronto Sun. There are many others.

The Daily Mail traces the story to Cartel Blog, which apparently picked it up (without linking or acknowledging the source) from Thug Life. Thug Life, which often posts satire, made the story up out of whole cloth to promote a comedy video. It was listed as a "TLV exclusive" whose source was "a Mexican blogger who has close ties with Sinaloa cartel members." There was no link.

This funny scoop is another reason to read the Daily Mail.

From Wills Robinson a few hours ago:

EXCLUSIVE: Blogger hoodwinks millions with hoax story about El Chapo declaring war on ISIS for destroying shipments of his 'Middle East-bound' cocaine 

An email supposedly written by Mexican cartel leader El Chapo, saying he would destroy ISIS, has been revealed as a hoax. 

It was reported that Joaquín 'El Chapo' Guzmán had 'declared war' on the terrorists in an encrypted correspondence to their leader, Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi, in response to one of his 'shipments' of cocaine being destroyed. 

The story featured on cartelblog.com - a website dedicated to reporting the war on drugs - before being picked up a number of mainstream international news outlets and quickly going viral. 

But a writer and satirist told Daily Mail Online that he was the source of the story and that it was a work of pure fiction.

Steve Charnock 

Steve Charnock, who works for Thug Life Videos, says he published the fictional story on November 30. 

The website - and a number of others Charnock works for - upload real news stories, funny videos and some satirical pieces. 

Their aim is for these comedy pieces to go viral, but they never intended it to be picked up by major news outlets. 

He told Daily Mail Online both he and his boss came up with the story. They had previously joked in reports that the Bloods and Crips had waged war against the militants, but the stories were fake. 

'It was satire, faux news,' he said. 'It got a few shares on Facebook initially, but now it is the top story on some websites.' 

Charnock added that none of the news outlets contacted him to clarify the information. 

No one, he said, questioned how the Middle East shipment was destroyed or how the son of one of the world's most notorious fugitives would have been able to encrypt an email to the leader of ISIS. 

In the original story he made up quotes from the drug dealer, who escaped from prison through a tunnel in July.

'My men will destroy you. The world is not yours to dictate. I pity the next son of a wh*** that tries to interfere with the business of the Sinaloa Cartel. 

'I will have their heart and tongue torn from them.' 

He also wrote that three cartels The Sinaloa Cartel, The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and Los Zetas, were expanding into the Middle East. 

There have been recent stories about criminal factions and families responding to the threat of ISIS. 

In November Giovanni Gambino, whose father was part of New York's mafia, told Daily Mail Online he would protect the city from ISIS.

BREAKING: U.S. Special Forces Storm Radisson Hotel in Mali; Jihadists Hold 100+ Hostages

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From the Daily Mail:

Jihadists kill three as they go 'floor to floor' screaming 'Allahu Akbar' during AK-47 rampage at Mali hotel and take 170 hostages before freeing those who could recite the Koran

• Radison Blu hotel under attack by jihadists armed with AK-47s and hand grenades in Malian capital of Bamako
• Up to 10 gunmen have taken dozens of hostages inside the Radisson hotel while 80 people have escaped unharmed
• Gunmen spoke in English and tested hostages' knowledge of the Koran before allowing Muslim hostages to leave
• U.S. embassy confirms government employees are among the terrified hostages trapped inside the Radisson Blu hotel
• US Special Forces lead elite operation to clear the building one floor at a time amid deadly hostage crisis
• At least three people have been killed including one French national and US embassy have urged American nationals to 'shelter in place' from attack

Armed jihadists have killed at least three people in a deadly shooting rampage and taken 170 hostages at the Radisson Blu hotel in Bamako, Mali. 

Automatic weapons fire has been heard on the seventh floor of the 190-room hotel, where it is thought as many as 10 militants have been going floor to floor and taken 140 guests and 30 members of staff hostage. 

Witnesses described how the gunmen allowed around 20 hostages to leave safely after they proved they were able to recite verses of the Koran to the militants. US and French Special Forces have reportedly stormed the hotel and have began to clear the building one floor at a time. 

The US embassy has confirmed that several American government personnel are trapped inside the besieged hotel. 

No group has claimed responsibility for the hotel attack, which is frequently used by Air France crew, although Al Qaeda affiliated militants have previously carried out attacks in Mali. 

Several witnesses have claimed that the gunmen entered through the gates of the hotel in a car with a diplomatic number plate before opening fire with AK-47s and throwing grenades inside the building. The gunmen were also speaking to the hostages in English, according to one freed hostage. 

'I heard them say in English 'Did you load it?', 'Let's go,' revealed Guinean singer Sekouba 'Bambino' Diabate, who was freed by Malian security forces. 

'I wasn't able to see them because in these kinds of situations it's hard. I woke up with the sounds of gunshots and for me, it was just small bandits who came in the hotel to claim something. After 20 or 30 minutes, I realized these are not just petty criminals,' said Mr Diabate. 

The hotel's head of security, Seydou Dembele, said two private security guards had been shot in the legs in the early stages of the assault. 

'We saw two of the attackers. One was wearing a balaclava. The other was black-skinned. They forced the first barrier,' Dembele told Reuters. 

Within minutes of the assault, police and then soldiers had surrounded the hotel and were blocking roads leading into the neighbourhood. 

Two Malians and one French national have been killed while two workers for Turkish Airlines and 10 Chinese nationals are thought to be among the hostages. 

12 members of the Air France crew have been released from the hotel following a raid by Malian special forces while five other Turkish Airlines employees have managed to escape from the hotel, Turkish officials confirmed. 

'The whole of the Air France team is now in a safe place,' an Air France statement said, indicating it was in 'constant contact' with its team of two pilots and 10 cabin crew members. 

US Special Forces have reportedly been assisting with the rescue operation to clear the building of hostages and take out the armed jihadis. 

The French intelligence service has also been providing invaluable logistical support for the operation and have confirmed they have dispatched a unit of special forces to Bamako. 

Our special forces have freed hostages and 30 others were able to escape on their own. We have sealed all the exit points of the hotel, so be assured none of the hostage takers will be able to escape.' Security Minister Salif Traore told AFP. 

The Rezidor Hotel Group confirmed it is 'aware of the hostage-taking that is ongoing at the property today.'

'As per our information, two persons have locked in 140 guests and 30 employees,' the statement said. 

'Our safety and security teams and our corporate team are in constant contact with the local authorities in order to offer any support possible to re-instate safety and security at the hotel,' it added. 

The US embassy in Bamako has urged embassy staff to seek cover from the attack, tweeting that all Americans in Mali should 'shelter in place'.

Malian Special Forces have been seen outside the hotel and are assessing the situation while France's national security service have confirmed that about 40 members of the French National Gendarmerie Intervention Group are en route to Bamako. 

A spokesman for the service said they are heading from two different units of special police forces trained for emergency situations. British Special Forces are in Mali and also expected to head towards Bamako to help with the terror operation. 

Michael Skapoullis, who escaped the besieged hotel today, told the BBC: 'We live in a complex near the Radisson hotel. Every day I go to the [Radisson] gym from 6 to 8 in th emorning. 

'Today, after 7-ish, it was extremely quiet, there were two people inside the gym. They left and I was a bit worried. 

'We had the music on all the time at the gym so I didn't hear any gunshots. I left the gym and I tried to go in the lobby. 

'I opened the lobby door slowly, slowly, and I saw bullets on the ground. So I closed the door of the lobby and I went door to door, I went back in the gym, and from the gym I left the hotel. 

'Outside the hotel, there were police and military crew who escorted me and brought me to my house.' 

The horrific terror attacks comes just a few days after ISIS gunmen massacred 129 people on the streets of Paris. 

Suicide bombers targeted the Stade de France, cafes and restaurants as well as taking dozens of hostages at a death metal concert at the Bataclan theatre.
The co-ordinated attack was later claimed by ISIS, leading to a mass police hunt for one of the surviving gunmen and the ringleader of the deadly attack. 

Fears remain that the attack in Bamako may be linked or inspired by the Paris attack, where French nationals were targeted for the government's decision to carry out air strikes against ISIS. 

French president Francois Hollande says France is ready to help Mali with all means necessary in the wake of the hotel attack in the capital, Bamako.
Hollande asks all French citizens in Mali to make contact with the French Embassy there 'in order that everything is made to offer them protection.' 

'We should yet again stand firm and show our solidarity with a friendly country, Mali,' Mr Hollande said in a short statement. 

In Belgium, Foreign Minister Didier Reynders said there were four Belgians registered at the attacked hotel but it's unclear if they were taken hostage by the gunmen or not. 

Reynders also said there are '15 hostages who have been freed after an intervention' but didn't provide more details. 

In response to the terror attack in Bamako, Mali's President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita has cut short its tip to Chad where he was attending a meeting of regional leaders. 

The Mali presidency said on Twitter that Mr Keita will be back to Bamako 'in the next hours'. 

Mali, a former colony of France, has been battling several terror groups, predominantly located in the north of the country.

French special forces have been assisting the Malian army in their long standing counter-terrorism operation against militants from Ansar ad-Din, al-Qaeda in the Maghreb and Tuareg rebels.

The shooting in Mali follows a nearly 24-hour siege and hostage-taking at another hotel in August in the central Malian town of Sevare. 

Four soldiers, five UN workers and four attackers were killed in the deadly attack, thought to have been carried out by Al-Qaeda linked militants. 

Islamist groups have been waging attacks in Mali despite a June peace deal between former Tuareg rebels in the north of the country and rival pro-government armed groups. 

Northern Mali fell in March-April 2012 to Al-Qaeda-linked jihadist groups long concentrated in the area before being ousted by an ongoing French-led military operation launched in January 2013. 

Despite the peace deal, large swathes of Mali remain beyond the control of government and foreign forces. 

BREAKING: Blonde Muslima Detonates Suicide Vest, Second Terrorist Shot Dead, Seven Arrested in Paris Raid

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This detailed report, which also includes useful background information on St. Denis, is from the Daily Mail:

BREAKING NEWS: Police gun battle at Paris apartment 'where ISIS mastermind was holed up' ends with his 'wife' blowing herself up with a suicide vest, one jihadi shot dead and seven arrested

• French police and special forces launch operation to storm Saint-Denis flat containing up to six Paris terrorists
• Mastermind behind Friday's massacres, Abdelhamid Abaaoud, 27, was believed to be inside the Paris apartment
• Female suicide bomber detonated explosive vest after firing on police while one suspect killed by rooftop sniper
• Five people taken alive from flat and arrested as well as two others 'nearby' as stand-off ended after six hours
• Paris prosecutor refuses to confirm if Abaaoud was in flat and if so if he was captured or killed in the siege
• At least five police have been injured in the ferocious gunfight and the terrorists also shot and killed a police dog
• Witnesses told MailOnline there have been periods of intense machine gun fire and at least seven large explosions
• Man who rented flat to 'two Belgians' is arrested and claims: 'I didn't know they were terrorists. It was a favor'

A female terrorist wearing a suicide vest has blown herself up and another jihadi was killed by a grenade during a six-hour siege on a flat where police believe the Paris massacres mastermind and six other suspected terrorists were hiding. 

The stand-off between 100 French police and special forces and the Paris terror cell ended as a bloodied and half-naked suspect was dragged out of an apartment block through broken glass in Saint-Denis - close to the Stade de France. 

The gunfight started at 4.30am when SWAT teams and special forces surrounded the building believing it contained Abdelhamid Abaaoud, 27, the architect of the plots that killed 129 people. The French authorities will not say if he was there or if he is dead or alive. 

A woman 'with long blonde hair' who may be Abaaoud's jihadi bride is said to have fired her AK-47 at police before blowing herself up as an assault squad first stormed the apartment block. As she tried to kill police another terror suspect was killed by a grenade blast. 

Police said that five people in the flat and apartment block were taken alive and arrested while two others including the flat's owner were held 'nearby'. 

At least five police were injured in the ferocious gunfight including one shot in the foot seen being carried from the scene. The terrorists also gunned down a seven-year-old sniffer dog called Diesel, sent into the block to look for booby traps. 

Security services hunting for Abaaoud had been watching flats and tapping phones in Saint-Denis before they swooped this morning believing the world's most wanted man and other terrorists were inside. Police also feared the group were about to attack aris' business district, La Defense. 

Witnesses told MailOnline there were long periods of intense machine gun fire and at least seven large explosions, caused by the suicide bomber and possibly hand grenades. There were no hostages involved.

As the Saint-Denis siege ended after six hours this morning police revealed:

• Paris massacres mastermind Abdelhamid Abaaoud, 27, was believed to be inside the safehouse;
• Police and secret services were watching several flats in Saint-Denis and had tapped phones in the area before they swooped at 4.30am;
• Operation became more important after a tip-off that the Paris terror cell were about to launch a new attack on city's business district, La Defense;
• Two terror suspects have been killed. One was a female suicide bomber who blew herself up and the other was a man killed by a grenade
• Seven people have been arrested. Five were held in the flat or the apartment block and two more were held nearby
• Five police officers were injured. A Belgian Shepherd sniffer dog called Diesel was sent in to the block and killed by the terror cell

Paris prosecutor Francois Molins said authorities are still working to determine the fate of Abaaoud - and identify those killed and arrested. 

He said confirmed three suspected jihadis were held in the flat and two more 'as they tried to hide in the rubble' of the block.He said: 'It is currently impossible to give the identify of those arrested, which is being verified. Everything will be done to work out who is who and thanks to forensics who and was in the apartment'. 

Mr Molins said police began the raid on Wednesday after gathering information that he could be in a safe house apartment in Saint-Denis. Mr Molins said the information was collected from tapped telephone conversations, surveillance and witness accounts. 

He told reporters in Saint-Denis after the operation was over that authorities are still working to determine who was inside. 

French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve arrived in Saint-Denis and said: 'I would like to pay tribute to all those involved in the operation, 110 in total, who acted with bravery and under heavy fire in conditions that they had never experienced before. 

'I would also like to pay tribute to the cool-headedness of St Denis residents. They also contributed to the success of the operation'. 

Armed police appeared on a street outside the Saint-Denis flat before dawn today and then at least three trucks of soldiers and special forces arrived as back up. 

Witnesses told MailOnline said there were long periods of intense machine gun fire and at least seven large explosions, caused by the suicide bomber and possibly hand grenades. There were no hostages involved. 

Lotfi, a 50 year old who was in the area, said: 'I heard police officers talking to a woman with long blonde hair. 

'I think she was the kamikaze. They told her not to lower her arms, to keep her hands up in the air, and then there was a massive explosion. I think that's when she detonated her bomb. It really was a very loud explosion. 

'Lots of windows on the street were shattered, and then the firefight started and it was going on nonstop.' 

Lofti, who would not offer his surname, said he saw a police dog called Diesel blown to pieces. The German Shepherd was there to sniff out explosives. 

One of the arrested suspects is the man who appears to have rented the flat to the terror cell. 

Jawad Ben Dowt, 30, admitted in an interview near the under siege apartment on Rue de Corbillon he handed it over to two men 'who came from Belgium' two days ago. 

He said: 'A friend of mine asked me to host two of his buddies for a few days. 

'I said there was no mattress, they told me 'it's okay', they just wanted water and to pray. My friend said they were from Belgium. 

'I was asked to a favour and I said yes. I was not aware that it was terrorists' - moments later police grabbed him and put him in handcuffs. A female friend of his who was also held said she stayed there last week and described it as a 'squat' and said the Belgian men arrived on Monday.  

A woman living below the under-siege flat with her young baby described being 'woken up by an explosion'. 

She told French broadcaster BMFTV: 'I awoke to an explosion. After that I heard gun shots and there was lots of shooting. The terrorists were fighting at the police and the police were firing back. 

There were shots, explosions. We didn't know where to go. My son and I were in panic. There was dust falling from the ceiling because of the explosions. I kept shouting 'If you're from the police, please help me. I'm here with my baby. But they kept shooting and shooting'.

Benson Hoi, 29, a software engineer, lives just 100 metres away from the apartment which is under siege and was woken up by the sound of gunfire at around 4am this morning. 

He says he is terrified one of the suspects may blow themselves up, hitting the residents hiding in the surrounding apartments. 

Mr Hoi told MailOnline: 'I am right next to the scene and at the moment I can see about 100 police officers, soldiers and at least 50 police cars.' 

He said he initially thought fireworks were going off when he was woken by the sound of gunfire, but when he checked Twitter he realised what was happening outside his home. 

He said: 'After about 15 minutes of panicking I decided to live stream what was happening outside so the world could see what was happening. Police were telling people to stay away from their windows so i left my phone on the window sill. 

'I can still hear police shouting on the street now. I heard seven explosions a few minutes ago. 

'At first some people were leaving their apartments to see what was going on, and the police chucked them back into their apartments.' 

He said they have not been told anything else, and police are eurging residents to remain inside away from their windows and doors. 

He said: 'I'm still worrying for my life. If those people are suicide bombers I'm not exactly safe. 

'For the sake of common sense I'm staying away from the windows, but I do not feel safe.' 

Baptiste Marie, a 26-year-old journalist who lives near the scene of the stand-off, said: 'It started with an explosion. Then there was second big explosion. Then two more explosions. There was an hour of gunfire'. 

Riot police were clearing the streets early Wednesday, pointing guns at curious residents to move them off the roads and telling them to go home. 

Mr Marie said the officers seemed nervous - 'you could see it in their eyes, ' he said. 

Residents said they were first woken by an explosion which shook the neighbourhood at about 4am (3am GMT) as police surrounded the flat, although it is not known what led them to the building. 

Witnesses say this was followed by an hour of automatic gunfire and explosions as an intense firefight ensued between police and the suspects holed up in the apartment. 

Neighbour Amine Guizani said: 'They were shooting for an hour. Nonstop. There were grenades. It was going, stopping. Kalashnikovs. Starting again.' 

Teams of armed police appeared on a street outside the Saint-Denis flat before dawn today and then at least three trucks of soldiers and special forces arrived as back up. 

Police cordoned off the area nearby, including a pedestrian zone lined with shops and 19th-century apartment buildings, and cleared people from the streets, pointing guns at curious residents to move them off the roads. 

Sporadic bangs and blast continued and at 7.30am (6.30am) at least seven explosions shook the centre of Saint-Denis. 

A woman who may be Abaaoud's wife is said to have fired her AK-47 at police before blowing herself up with a suicide vest as an assault squad stormed the apartment block. 

As she tried to kill police, a rooftop sniper shot dead another terror suspect through a window. 

Police have confirmed that three people in the apartment were taken alive and arrested while two others were held nearby. 

An innocent person on the street is understood to have been killed in the crossfire and at least four police are believed to have been injured in the firefight. 

By 7.30am, the area had fallen quiet, but there continued to be with a heavy police presence as officers secured the area and pursued any further lines of enquiry.

Residents have been told to stay in their homes and away from windows and some have been moved to a temporary shelter in the town hall. Police have confirmed that several officers have been hurt. 

Caroline Chomienne, who runs a film school, Altermedia, in St Denis, was trapped in the building next to where the assault took place. 

'We'd been working all night on a film and my staff had been gone for some time when around 4.20am I heard shooting. Then they became louder and for on an hour it went on - bursts of fire from all sides but also sounds like bombs going off. 

'The walls were shaking it was horrific. It was like war. It was Beirut.' 

Now the director is thinking of quitting Paris. 

'Something like this doesn't surprise me,' she told Le Parisien, 'that terrorists have hidden here. In this district the cellars are full of weapons. Outside there is a dealer every 100mtrs. It's common knowledge around here that people go and come back from Syria with ease. The past year the atmosphere has been awful in the street...it's very hard.' 

Since the school was established in 1996 in the centre of Saint-Denis, the area has deteriorated added Caroline. 

'At first there was a real mix here, but in recent years people have just been leaving and the handful of young couples who arrive are horrified. After this morning I think we'll have to leave. I don't know if anyone will even come in to work today', she said. 

BFMTV and iTele both showed amateur video of the shootings and cited witnesses in the area saying they had heard sporadic gunfire since around 4.30am. 

Omar Dati, a 17-year-old student who lives in the area, said: 'Everybody could hear the shooting very early on. It was like a warzone – the soldiers were dressed in battle gear. 

'The explosions were very loud indeed and we were all terrified we would be shot. We didn't know where to run.'