Tue 09 August 2022:

Mali’s army has reported that armed attackers believed to be members of the ISIL (ISIS) group attacked the country’s south over the weekend and killed 17 Malian soldiers and four civilians.

Nine soldiers were also reported missing and vehicles and equipment were destroyed as a result of the attack on Sunday near the town of Tessit, which sits in a strategic border zone between Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, the Malian army said in a statement on Monday.

It added that there was “an unknown number of dead and injured carried away by the attackers,” and that the death toll from the attack was provisional and likely to change.

“On 07 August 2022 around 3pm (15:00 GMT), the army units of Tessit … responded vigorously to a complex and coordinated attack by armed terrorist groups, presumably from ISGS [Islamic State in the Greater Sahara] and benefiting from drone and artillery support,” the army’s statement said.

It added that Malian forces had killed at least seven of the fighters.

Mali is facing a worsening battle against armed groups, some linked to al-Qaeda and ISIL, which has claimed thousands of lives and forced hundreds of thousands from their homes.

The violence initially erupted in northern Mali in 2012 but has since spread to the country’s centre and south, as well as neighbouring Niger and Burkina Faso.

15 soldiers killed in northern Burkina Faso blasts

At least 15 soldiers were killed in northern Burkina Faso when a transport vehicle drove over a hidden explosive, killing several troops before a second explosion killed those who rushed to their aid, the army has said in a statement.

The incident occurred on a rural road in the Bam province of the country’s Central-North region, where soldiers and civilians are routinely targeted by armed groups. Those linked to al-Qaeda and the ISIL (ISIS) armed group have been active in the region since at least 2015.

“One of the vehicles in the convoy, which was carrying troops, hit an explosive device near Namsiguia district in Bam province,” the army said in a statement on Tuesday.

“While rescue and security operations were being organised, a second device was obviously activated remotely, causing numerous casualties,” it said.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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