Three Europeans and two locals have been shot dead in an attack on a restaurant in the Malian capital Bamako.
At least one gunman entered La Terrasse in an area of Bamako popular with expatriates shortly after midnight and opened fire, according to police and a reporter on the scene in the aftermath.
"This is a terrorist attack, although we're waiting for clarification. Provisionally, there are four dead - one French national, a Belgian and two Malians," a policeman said, adding that the dead included a police officer who had been passing the restaurant.
A source at the Gabriel Toure hospital in Bamako said a third European, of unknown citizenship, had died on arrival while eight people were wounded.
Dozens of police officers secured the area but the few witnesses to the attack were initially refusing to testify, fearing reprisals.
The French embassy in Bamako issued a message to all French citizens in the city to exercise caution if they had to leave their homes.
A police source said on Saturday two suspects had been arrested.
The suspects "are in the process of being interrogated", the source said, adding that they had begun to give "interesting" information.
