A suicide car bomb attack on French troops patrolling in the Al Moustarat region north of Gao killed one French soldier and wounded at least six others. In a goodwill gesture ahead of peace talks between the Malian government and separatist rebels in the north, 41 Tuareg prisoners were exchanged for 45 soldiers held by rebels. A message purportedly from Hamaad bin Muhammad al-Amin al-Shinqiti, former head of the sharia judiciary in Gao, expressed his approval of the Islamic State; the message was titled “Azawadi Support for the Islamic State.”
