BAMAKO, Mali — Malian security forces were hunting “more than three” suspects on Saturday after a brazen assault on the Radisson Blu hotel in the capital that killed 20 people plus two assailants, a military official said.

Malians awoke to a state of emergency after Friday’s attack in Bamako that was claimed by an extremist group formed by notorious Algerian militant Moktar Belmoktar. The statement from the Al-Mourabitoun (The Sentinels) group was carried by the Al-Jazeera network and said the assault was in cooperation with al-Qaida’s “Sahara Emirate.”

“The search has started and I can tell you that we are looking for more than three people at the moment,” said Maj. Modibo Nama Traore.

On Friday morning, heavily armed assailants shouting “God is great!” in Arabic burst into the complex and opened fire on guards before seizing dozens of hostages at the hotel popular with foreigners, sparking a more than seven-hour siege by Malian troops backed by U.S. and French special forces.

Hostages trickled out slowly during the siege as security forces worked to secure the hotel floor by floor. At least one guest reported the attackers instructed him to recite verses from the Quran as proof of his Muslim faith before he was allowed to leave.

The hotel was being guarded by national police on Saturday, said Sgt. Idrissa Berthe, one of the officers posted at the scene which was still strewn with broken glass from shot out windows. “This morning, investigators have begun to arrive to do their work,” Berthe said, adding that President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita was also expected later in the day.