Nabil Makhloufi, a.k.a. Nabil Alqama, a leader of the al Qaeda-linked Ansar Dine, died in a car accident near Gao. Sixteen moderate Muslim preachers were shot dead outside Diabaly. Mauritania accused Malian forces of executing the men. The Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa called the killings a declaration of war and said it would continue its southward push to Bamako, the Malian capital.
