Extremist group announces targeting the Malian army in an attack on its barracks
The Group to Support Islam and Muslims (Nusrat al Islam), led by Tuareg leader Iyad Ag Ghaly, announced the killing of 40 Malian soldiers and the destruction of 21 vehicles, including three armored vehicles, in an attack on a Malian army barracks in Dioura, in the central Mopti region.
The armed group explained in a social media post that its fighters seized “six vehicles, four 14.5mm machine guns, five Dushka machine guns, 13 PKs, four RPGs, and 57 Kalashnikovs” during the attack, which took place on Friday evening.
The group, which was founded in early March 2017, added that it also seized “four pistols, two mortars, 126 magazines, 162 ammunition boxes, 36 PIKA cartridges, 16 RPGs, and other miscellaneous items”.
The Malian army didn’t comment on the attack, nor did local Malian media cover it, however, some media outlets reported another attack on Saturday morning on a site of the Chinese company COVEC in the Kayes region in central Mali.
Malian media quoted military sources as saying that the attackers set fire to all of the company’s machinery, including cranes, tractors, and tanker trucks, and also, warehouses and storage facilities weren’t spared and also sustained significant damage.
The Malian army indicated that the company’s fleet of vehicles was completely destroyed, as the attackers left the scene to an unknown destination after committing their crime.
Meanwhile, the General Staff of the Malian Armed Forces announced the killing of several militants in an ambush carried out by Malian army personnel “against a terrorist group in the Sovara district”.
The General Staff added in a statement on Friday that these militants attempted to cross the river at Sibidaga after attacking the village of Diongoui Bambara in the Sofara district, and that the successful ambush set up for them resulted in the killing of a number of them, destroying their logistical equipment, and the seizure of a large quantity of logistical materials.
The Ag Ghaly group has recently intensified its armed attacks in the region.
On Sunday, it claimed responsibility for targeting a Nigerien army vehicle last Saturday in the village of Belle Abou in the Dosso region in the southwest of the country.
The group announced the killing of five Nigerien soldiers and the seizure of some weapons.
The group also announced that it had carried out an attack last Monday on a Beninese army position in the village of Mekoro, near the border with Burkina Faso, and seized equipment including 26 boxes of ammunition and 70 mortar shells.
