Mali military base attack claimed by Al Qaeda affiliate

An attack on Mali's main military base has been claimed by an Al Qaeda affiliate.

The group said it was a response to governmental collaboration with Russian mercenaries.

One soldier was killed in the car bomb attack on the Kati base, which is 15km outside Bamako. According to the military, six people were also wounded, seven attackers killed and eight arrested.

In a statement, the media unit for al Qaeda's local affiliate, Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimeen (JNIM), said its Katiba Macina branch had carried out the attack, according to a translation by the SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors jihadist statements.

The statement said a Malian fighter had detonated a car bomb at the gates of the base and a fighter from Burkina Faso had detonated another inside the base - other fighters then entered the camp.

Giving reason for the attack, the statement cited the presence of Russian mercenaries in Mali. The Wagner Group of mercenaries, which began supplying hundreds of fighters last year to support the Malian military, has been accused by human rights groups and local residents of participating in massacres of civilians.

The statement said: "We say to the Bamako government: if you have the right to hire mercenaries to kill the defenceless innocent people, then we have the right to destroy you and target you."

In another statement, JNIM also claimed responsibility for attacks in five Malian towns on Thursday, which killed one soldier and wounded 15 according to the military.

Image: Pixabay