Launched only a week after the terrorist attacks in Paris, the 20 November hostage crisis at the Radisson Blu hotel in Mali’s capital, Bamako, immediately made international headlines. After the attack, which claimed at least 22 lives, there is still much speculation about who is behind and whether the events are related to the Paris attacks. While a high degree of uncertainty persist, we argue that a combination of global competition between Al Qaeda and Islamic State and local conflicts triggered this event and affects overall security in Mali.