There may have been as many as three Muslin gunmen who attacked the Radisson Blu Hotel in Mali on Friday morning. Survivors of the brutal attack that left at least 21 dead have reported that everyone was seated at the dining room having breakfast when the gunmen simply burst in and started shooting at the tables. There was no talking or demands, just bullets flying everywhere.

Survivors said that the Muslim gunmen shot at anything that even remotely looked like it was moving. Mali and UN soldiers moved in, but it was hours later when the siege had finally been stopped. In its wake lay blood and destruction and the bodies of 21 dead, according to CNN. Reports are that two of the gunmen were killed in the attack, although no one has reported whether they were shot or they blew themselves up.

The gunmen apparently walked into the hotel and started blasting away at everyone and everything. An al-Qaeda affiliated group has taken responsibility for the attack. They stated that the attacks were  for revenge on government and French attacks in the north. They also demanded that certain prisoners be released from French prisons.

At the time of the shooting there was a peace delegation going on in the capital city and at the hotel. There had been radical Muslim extremists operating in the north of the country and the French and others are trying to broker some sort of peace deal. The French has supplied military help in the government’s battle with the extremists.

There were 170 hostages originally taken in the attack, of which 30 were hotel employees. Mali officials have declared a state of emergency for the next 10 days and there will be three days of national mourning. All national flags will fly at half staff. Mali is a former French colony and France has vowed to stand by them until the extremist Muslim insurgency has been defeated in the north of the country.