Al-Qaeda and Daesh/ISIS affiliate claims responsibility for Mali’s attacks

By James Tasamba

KIGALI, Rwanda (AA) – A group affiliated with the al-Qaeda and Daesh/ISIS terror organizations claimed responsibility Saturday for two recent separate attacks in Mali, purportedly in response to Mali’s collaboration with mercenaries from Russia's Wagner Group.

A terrorist attack on a military base near Mali’s capital Bamako left a soldier dead on Friday.

Seven terrorists were shot dead as Malian forces “vigorously repelled” the attackers.

The attack on the Kati military barracks, some 15 kilometers (9 miles) from Bamako, began early in the morning with two vehicles packed with explosives, the army said.

Six people were wounded in the assault while eight more were arrested.

The government blamed the attack on Katiba Macina, a group affiliated with the al-Qaeda and Daesh/ISIS terror organizations.

Friday’s attack came a day after coordinated assaults on army bases in central Mali left one soldier dead and 15 wounded.

In separate statements on Saturday, the so-called media unit for al-Qaeda and Daesh/ISIS local affiliate, Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimeen (JNIM), acknowledged the government’s claim that Katiba Macina had carried out the two attacks.

A Malian fighter had “detonated a car bomb at the barrack’s gate while a fighter from Burkina Faso detonated another inside the barracks, thereby allowing additional fighters to enter,” according to the JNIM statement.

“We say to the Bamako government that if you have the right to hire mercenaries to kill the defenseless innocent people, then we have the right to destroy and target you,” it said.

Last year, Mali indicated that deals with Wagner were motivated by the French drawdown of its troops in the country.

Western leaders and rights groups have expressed concerns about the actions of Wagner in Mali, and in particular about its alleged crimes against certain communities such as the Fulani.​​​​​​​

But the Malian government has referred to Wagner personnel as instructors from the Russian military.

Since 2012, Mali has been battling violence orchestrated by militant and terrorist groups in northern and central parts of the country.