Gunmen have opened fire on a hotel being used as a base for an EU military training base in Mali's capital, Bamako.

A witness said the attackers tried to force their way through the entrance of the Nord-Sud hotel when the guards posted at the front opened fire.

They said: "The attackers tried to force through the entry and the guards posed in front of the entrance opened fire.

"One attacker was killed. The gunfire continued for several minutes".

A Defence Ministry spokesman confirmed that shots had been fired at the hotel.

Colonel Diarran Kone said: "The security forces arrived on the scene a half hour ago. I don't have more information than that for the moment".

No EU personnel were hurt in the attack.

The attack comes just months a siege at the city's Radisson Blu hotel.

If the attack was carried out by Islamist gunmen it will be the latest in a string of terror attacks across the region.

In pictures: Mali Radisson hotel attack Show all 20 1 /20 In pictures: Mali Radisson hotel attack In pictures: Mali Radisson hotel attack In pictures: Mali Radisson hotel attack In pictures: Mali Radisson hotel attack In pictures: Mali Radisson hotel attack In pictures: Mali Radisson hotel attack In pictures: Mali Radisson hotel attack In pictures: Mali Radisson hotel attack In pictures: Mali Radisson hotel attack In pictures: Mali Radisson hotel attack People run to flee from the Radisson Blu Hotel in Bamako, Mali. The company that runs the Radisson Blu Hotel in Mali's capital says assailants have taken hostages in a brazen assault involving grenades AP In pictures: Mali Radisson hotel attack Security force personnel escort people fleeing from the Radisson Blu Hotel in Bamako In pictures: Mali Radisson hotel attack Malian troops take position near the Radisson Blu hotel in Bamako In pictures: Mali Radisson hotel attack Security personnel, right, attend close to the scene of an attack on a hotel in Bamako In pictures: Mali Radisson hotel attack Malian troops take position outside the Radisson Blu hotel in Bamako In pictures: Mali Radisson hotel attack Malian security forces evacuate two women from an area surrounding the Radisson Blu hotel in Bamako In pictures: Mali Radisson hotel attack Security forces drive an armored vehicle near the Radisson hotel in Bamako In pictures: Mali Radisson hotel attack Security forces, center left, escorts a man, center right, from the Radisson Blu hotel entrance area were gunmen attacked in Bamako In pictures: Mali Radisson hotel attack Onlookers gather near the Radisson Blu hotel after gunmen stormed the building in Bamako In pictures: Mali Radisson hotel attack Malian security forces take position near the Radisson Blu hotel in Bamako In pictures: Mali Radisson hotel attack Malian troops take position outside the Radisson Blu hotel in Bamako In pictures: Mali Radisson hotel attack Malian troops take position outside the Radisson Blu hotel in Bamako

Mali is currently fighting an insurgency by Islamist militants in the north of the country with the help of French security forces.

Last week, the terror group al-Qaeda in the Magreb claimed responsibility for an attack on a beachfront resort in Ivory Coast which left 19 people dead.

The military mission is made of up armed personnel from several EU member states who are in the country to train the Malian army to tackle the rebels.