Al-Qaeda group claims deadly Mali ‘thrashing’

Al-Qaeda’s North African branch is claiming attacks in northern Mali that killed a Chinese UN peacekeeper and three civilians, the US-based monitoring group SITE says.

The attacks on Tuesday came days after five UN peacekeepers were killed in an ambush in central Mali, as concern grows over the future of the UN’s deadliest active mission.

“Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) reported that its al-Murabitoun battalion engaged in a clash with ‘Crusader occupation forces,'” referring to the UN mission in Mali, SITE said, adding that the jihadists called it an “epic battle.”

AQIM said in a statement its fighters were “thrashing” the enemy.

One attack on a UN camp in the northern town of Gao on Tuesday killed a peacekeeper and seriously wounded three others, while a second armed attack on a UN de-mining unit killed two security guards and an international expert, the UN mission known by the acronym MINUSMA said.

— AFP