The attackers were heard yelling “Allahu Akbar” and separated Muslims from non-Muslims. The hostage crisis is the second to occur in Mali this year, but the first to occur in its capital. Jihadists have increasingly been able to penetrate southern Mali after a French-led counterterrorism mission in the north.
The reclusive leader of Ansar Dine, an al Qaeda group that operates in Mali, has resurfaced again to threaten the French and dismiss the latest peace deal with the Tuaregs in Mali.
Al Qaeda’s branches and allies have held or continue to control ground in Syria, Yemen, Somalia, Mali, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Libya, contrary to the narrative that only the Islamic State seeks to take territory.
The video shows an attack on a convoy between Goundam and Timbuktu in northern Mali in July.
The video confirms that the jihadist group holds the hostage and that he was still alive as of two weeks ago.
The statement comes just days after a different statement was released by the group in which it confirmed Mokhtar Belmokhtar, who is openly loyal to al Qaeda, as its emir.
A statement released online today confirms that Mokhtar Belmokhtar is now the emir of Al Murabitoon, which calls itself “Al Qaeda in West Africa.” Another Al Murabitoon emerged in Egypt last month and it is also loyal to al Qaeda.
The statement is the first claim of responsibility despite reports that another jihadist group was likely behind the siege.
No group has yet to claim the assault, though attacking hotels frequented by foreigners is a common tactic of jihadists.
The ambush near Timbuktu is just the latest al Qaeda attack near the city. Additionally, other attacks by jihadists have occurred further south in the country.
The raid occurred in the Tigharghar mountains and comes just months after French special forces killed two al Qaeda leaders in Mali.
The incident in northern Mali comes just days after jihadist attacks in the central and southern portions of the country.
The attack is the second in June to take place near the border with Ivory Coast and the second in two days in the lower half of Mali. These attacks come after the government and the main Tuareg rebels in the north have agreed to a peace deal.
The assault comes just days after rebel Tuareg groups signed a peace deal with the Malian government.
The video, which is intended to show the hostages are still alive, shows the captives speaking to their respective governments and families.
The attack in southern Mali, which is a rare occurrence, is part of the trend of increased jihadist attacks in the central and southern portions of the country.
The attacks targeted a UN base and a UN convoy, which included the heads of the UN’s military and police forces in Mali, near the city of Timbuktu. The claims come after conflicting reports from a Mauritanian news agency that first reported Al Murabitoon claimed the attacks.
The special forces raids killed an al Qaeda leader known for kidnapping and murdering Western hostages.
The statement also confirms that he and his group, the Al Mulathameen Brigade, are still loyal to Zawahiri and al Qaeda. The Long War Journal cannot independently verify the statement’s authenticity.
The explosion killed three civilians and left 16 wounded, including nine Nigerien UN peacekeepers. The group said that it was directly targeting Nigerien troops because of Niger’s president Mahamadou Issoufou’s response in the wake of the Charlie Hebdo attacks in Paris.
Dutch national Sjaak Rijke has been freed from captivity after being held in Mali since 2011. Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), al Qaeda’s official branch in North Africa, is still believed to be holding two other men captured with Rijke in Timbuktu.
French forces free Dutch hostage in Mali
The rocket barrage has not yet been claimed, but al Qaeda-affiliated groups have launched similar attacks on the UN in the past. This comes one day after a terrorist attack, perpetrated by group loyal to al Qaeda, occurred in Mali’s capital.
Rocket attack hits Kidal UN base in northern Mali
The assault, which has been claimed by the Al Qaeda-affiliated group, is the first of its kind in Bamako.
Militants kill five in attack on restaurant in Mali capital
Iyad Ag Ghaly, the reclusive leader of the Malian jihadist group Ansar Dine, is purported to be living freely in the Kidal region of Mali. A journalist for the German publication Der Spiegel met with the jihadist leader and his lieutenants.
French forces killed about a dozen jihadists “in the region of the Adrar des Ifoghas mountains” in northern Mali. The UN’s peacekeeping mission is struggling with persistent insecurity and tensions with the civilian populace.
UN forces reportedly killed three protestors and injured others in Gao after using gunfire to disperse a protest over a plan to disarm a pro-government militia; some reports described the protest as a siege. Suicide bombers and gunmen killed about a dozen people during an assault on Tuareg rebel positions near Tabankort town; the attackers […]
Tuareg separatists protesting UN airstrikes claimed to have driven UN forces from an airfield in Kidal in northern Mali. A dutch helicopter fired on a car near the town of Gao, killing four rebels. UN forces repelled rebels who attacked them with a heavy machine gun near Tabankort.