An unknown number of hostages was still being held in Mali by gunmen who stormed a hotel in the central town of Sevare, triggering a shootout that killed at least eight people, the military said Friday.

"The hostage taking is still going on. The death toll now is three dead soldiers and four wounded," a military source said. "Two terrorists have also been killed and there are three bodies lying in front of the hotel next to a burned-out minibus."

Earlier the authorities had said that four people, including two soldiers, had been killed at the Byblos hotel, which is popular with foreigners.