Al-Qaeda affiliate claims attack on Mali′s largest military base | News | DW

Militants linked to al-Qaeda claimed duty for a lethal assault towards the nation’s predominant army base exterior the capital, Bamako.

On Friday, attackers set off two automobile bombs close to the army base in Kati, killing one soldier.

Mali’s army mentioned six individuals have been wounded, seven assailants have been killed, and eight have been arrested.

It was the closest assault to town by extremist rebels in an insurgency that has been occurring for over a decade.

Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimeen (JNIM) mentioned its Katiba Macina department had carried out the assault in response to the presence of mercenaries from Russia’s Wagner Group in Mali.

“We are saying to the Bamako authorities: if in case you have the suitable to rent mercenaries to kill the defenseless harmless individuals, then we’ve got the suitable to destroy you and goal you,” JNIM mentioned, based on jihadist monitor SITE Intelligence Group.

The Malian military has just lately intensified its anti-jihadist operations, counting on what it describes as Russian instructors.

Mali has been battling a decade-long insurgency that has additionally engulfed different international locations within the Sahel area

Who’s Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimeen?

JNIM is the dominant jihadist alliance within the Sahel and is linked to al-Qaeda.

It is made up of a number of teams, together with the Katiba Macina, and operates primarily in Mali and Burkina Faso.

The alliance is straight competing for dominance with the IS affiliate Islamic State within the Larger Sahara.

The European Council on International Relations describes JNIM as “one of the lively jihadist armed teams in Mali.”

The US mentioned the group is “nearly completely liable for the close to doubling of violent actions and related fatalities” within the Sahel yearly since 2016.

Mali has been battling varied jihadist teams in its northern and central areas.

It has needed to depend on French troops and UN peacekeepers to maintain the militants from taking management however the relationship between Bamako and troop-contributing international locations have turned bitter since a army coup final 12 months.

 lo/wd (AFP, Reuters)