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Samuel Benalal

Israeli killed in terror attack on hotel in Mali's capital

Samuel Benalal, 58, from Tzuh Hadassah was killed, another Israeli rescued after Islamists storm Radisson Blu hotel in Bamako on Friday.

An Israeli man was among the 20 people murdered in a terror attack at the Radisson Blu hotel in Mali's capital of Bamako on Friday, the Foreign Ministry confirmed on Saturday. He was identified as Samuel Benalal, 58, from Tzur Hadassah.

 

 

Another Israeli who was at the hotel when Islamist terrorists stormed the building was rescued by Malian commandos along with some 170 hostages, and has already left the country.

 

Since Israel has no diplomatic relations with Mali, the Foreign Ministry is being aided by the German and American embassies in the country in an effort of identifying the body.

 

Samuel Benalal.
Samuel Benalal.

  

Benalal, who was born in Venezuela and made aliyah to Israel at a young age, visited Mali several times in the past, and served as a consultant to the government on education.

 

A father of three, Benalal was an educator who worked as a headmaster of a Jewish school in Mexico, among other things. In recent years, Benalal served as the CEO of the Telos Group Ltd., a consulting company that specializes in the international development of education, mostly in third world countries like Vietnam, Macedonia, and countries in the former Soviet Union. He wrote guidebooks on educational planning, development of schools, the integration of parent committees into education, and planning for the integration of special needs populations in education.

 

He was a faculty member at the Mandel School for Educational Leadership, where he taught and wrote curriculum. He was also an advisor and wrote curriculum at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.

Malian commandos outside the hotel (Photo: Reuters)
Malian commandos outside the hotel (Photo: Reuters)

 

Jihadist group Al Mourabitoun and al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) claimed responsibility for the attack.

 

In addition to the Israeli citizen, three Chinese executives, six Russian airline employees, two Belgian nationals and one American were so far confirmed killed in the attack. Seven people were wounded in the attack.

 

Two militants were killed in the rescue operation, which was aided by logistical and intelligence support from France and the US. Mali authorities were still looking for three people suspected of being involved in the attack.

 

The raid on the Radisson Blu hotel, which lies just west of the city center near government ministries and diplomatic offices in the former French colony, comes a week after Islamic State (ISIS) militants killed 130 people in Paris.

 

Prior to Malian forces entering the hotel, the gunmen had already released some hostages, including those able to recite verses from the Koran, while others managed to escape or were brought out by security forces.

 

Malian commandos outside the hotel (Photo: AFP)
Malian commandos outside the hotel (Photo: AFP)

 

Mali President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita cut short a trip to a regional summit in Chad in order to return to Mali.

 

"Tonight the death toll is heavy," Keita said on state television, declaring a 10-day state of emergency and three days of national mourning.

 

Conflicting reports have emerged about the number of gunmen, with the figure ranging between two and 10. They entered the hotel firing shots and shouting "Allahu Akbar", or "God is great" in Arabic.

 

Malian troops help hostages escape (Photo: Reuters)
Malian troops help hostages escape (Photo: Reuters)

 

The attack is a sharp setback for former colonial power France, which has stationed 3,500 troops in northern Mali to try to restore stability after a rebellion in 2012 by ethnic Tuaregs that was later hijacked by jihadists linked to al Qaeda.

 

It also puts a spotlight on veteran militant leader Mokhtar Belmokhtar, whose group Al Mourabitoun staged the attack months after he was reported killed in an air strike.

 

Itay Blumenthal and Reuters contributed to this report.

 


פרסום ראשון: 11.21.15, 10:23
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