Suicide attack against military camp in Mali, day after deadly attack

A Malian army camp was targeted by a suicide attack in Gao on Friday, the day after a double attack blamed on jihadists which killed at least 64 civilians and soldiers in the north, where tension is growing day by day.

The army spoke in a brief message on social media of a “complex” attack in the airport area, meaning it involved different means. It did not provide an assessment, merely saying that “response and evaluation (were) in progress”.

Very few details are available. An airport employee contacted by reported an attack carried out using two car bombs, accompanied by shooting. The airport was closed, he said.

The two separate attacks attributed to jihadists targeted the Timbuktu boat on the Niger River and an army position in Bamba, in the Gao region, according to a government statement which does not specify how many people died respectively on the ship and in the military base.

The Bamba attack was claimed by the Support Group for Islam and Muslims (GSIM or Jnim according to the Arabic acronym), a jihadist alliance affiliated with Al-Qaeda, on the Al-Zallaqa propaganda platform, according to SITE , an American NGO specializing in monitoring radical groups.