Al-Qaeda linked groups claims Mali attack

Al-Qaeda linked groups claims Mali attack
Al-Qaeda affiliate Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimeen claimed responsibility for a deadly attack that was carried out on Sunday.
2 min read
02 July, 2018
Four civilians were killed in the attack [Getty]

An al Qaeda affiliated group in Mali has claimed responsibility for a deadly attack on French soldiers in the northern town of Gao, a monitoring group has said.

The Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimeen group announced on Monday that the attack was a message to French President Emmanuel Macron ahead of his visit to Mauritania, monitoring group US SITE said, citing a journalist who often receives direct news of claims.

A suicide car bomb aimed at a patrol of French soldiers killed four civilians Sunday in Gao in northern Mali.

The attack was the third in three days in Mali, which is preparing for presidential elections on July 29.

"French soldiers in armored vehicles were patrolling ... when a gray-colored 4X4 car drove by them before exploding," said Atayoub Maiga, a Gao resident who witnessed the explosion.

"I saw French helicopters coming to the scene of the attack and evacuating wounded," he said.

According to the Malian Ministry of Homeland Security said that 31 were wounded, including eight French soldiers.

This is the third attack targeting military forces in Mali in the past three days.

Two soldiers and one civilian were killed on Friday in the car bomb attack on the G5 Sahel force command post in the central town of Sevare. The al-Qaida affiliate in Mali has claimed responsibility for that attack. On Saturday at least four Malian soldiers were killed when their vehicle hit a land mine in the Koro area in central Mali.

The recent series of attacks are creating doubts about how Mali will be able to secure safe elections at the end of July.