Attack on popular resort outside Bamako leaves two people dead, but dozens of guests are rescued, officials say.

At least two people have been killed after an attack on a popular tourist resort on the outskirts of Mali's capital, Bamako, according to officials, but dozens of guests were rescued.

Gunmen stormed the luxury Le Campement Kangaba complex near Dougourakoro on Sunday, attacking a resort frequented by top officials and foreign residents, especially during the weekend.

Malian troops and soldiers from France's Bakhane counter-terrorist force headed to the scene. Local residents reported hearing shots fired while smoke billowed into the air.

Mali's Security Minister Salif Traore said late on Sunday that at least four attackers were killed by security forces.

"We have recovered the bodies of two attackers who were killed," Traore told journalists, adding that they were "searching for the bodies of two others", without specifying if any more were on the run.

"At first we thought they were armed bandits but we know how armed bandits operate, they don't hold territory, so now we think it is a terrorist attack," Traore had earlier told reporters outside the entrance to the resort, part of which was on fire.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility.
Officials said two people had been killed, including a French-Gabonese citizen and another whose nationality was not yet known.
Two others had been wounded, one civilian and a policeman, Baba Cisse, spokesman for the security ministry, told the Reuters news agency. An attacker had also been wounded and fled, leaving a sub-machine gun and six bottles of explosives behind, he said.

Malian state TV reported that 36 guests had so far been rescued. At least 14 people, both Malians and foreigners, were wounded, according to the security ministry.

A witness told local television ORTM said he saw a man arrive on a motorcycle who "started shooting at the crowd" followed by "two or three people" who came in another vehicle.

Witness Boubacar Sangare was just outside the compound during the attack. "Westerners were fleeing the encampment while two plainclothes police exchanged fire with the assailants," he told Reuters.
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