Al-Qaeda claimed responsibility for two attacks that killed at least two firefighters and three civilians Monday near Bamako, in a statement on Wednesday
The al-Qaeda, “claimed responsibility for two simultaneous attacks against a fire station and an environmental and forest protection unit located near the Malian capital Bamako,” the statement added.
The towns of Markacoungo and Kassela, both on the Bamako-Ségou route in southeast Mali, where they are relatively infrequent, were the targets of the attacks.
Al Qaeda omitted to mention the cost of these strikes. Two firefighters and three civilians were murdered in the Markacoungo incident, according to the Malian Ministry of Security and Civil Protection on Tuesday.
The Sahelian nation of Mali has been engaged in a decade-long conflict with an insurgency that has expanded to its neighbors Burkina Faso and Niger.
To aid in the war against jihadists, the junta in charge since 2020 has imported Russians whom it promotes as military instructors.
The military instructors are described by Westerners as mercenaries from the paramilitary Wagner group, which is connected to the Kremlin.