Following the bloodiest recent attacks by Islamist extremists, Mali designated three days of national mourning, which will start on Thursday.
The military reported that 42 soldiers were killed in an ambush on Sunday in Gao’s northern area.
Jihadi radicals employed drones, artillery, and booby-trapped cars, according to a statement.
More details were provided by the anchor on national television: “Following the conclusion of the battle, the enemy suffered the following losses: 37 terrorists were neutralized on their side, equipment was left behind by the attackers near Tessit, and two vehicles carrying equipment and their occupants were destroyed by airstrikes in a forest five kilometers south of the locality. Forty two people were killed and twenty wounded on the friendly side “, Traore, Ibrahim read
In Mali’s South, another attack Sunday, claimed by Al-Qaida-linked group JNIM, killed five police officers.
The country and its partners have been fighting off extremists for nearly a decade. Despite deliveries of military equipment, terrorits have heaped pressure on the Malian transitional authorities. Intensifying attacks ever since Mali’s European partners were asked to withdraw.
