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Africa: Mali army says at least 80 militants killed after Jihadists attacked military posts
Malian army on Tuesday said that it 'neutralised' more than 80 militants after Jihadist fighters launched coordinated attacks on military posts in several towns across Mali, marking the third major offensive against the army in the past month.
According to a BBC report, Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM), an al-Qaeda-affiliated group, claimed responsibility for the attacks and said it had seized control of three army barracks.
However, Malian army said the enemy suffered significant losses in every location they attacked.
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'The enemy suffered significant losses in every location where they engaged with the security and defence forces,' BBC quoted Army Spokesperson Souleymane Dembele as saying in a statement broadcast on national TV.
Col Dembele added that the army recovered weapons, vehicles and motorcycles from the assailants.
Mali has been gripped by a deadly Islamist insurgency for over a decade, alongside ongoing violence from separatist groups.
Earlier, the military reported that the attacks took place in seven towns and cities, including Binoli, Kayes, and Sandere, near the Senegalese border. Additional assaults were reported further north, close to Mali's border with Mauritania.
A resident of Kayes told the BBC that gunfire could be heard 'everywhere' during the assault.
'The police station was damaged, as well as the governor's house,' he was quoted as saying, adding that casualty figures were still unclear.
JNIM described its latest assault as 'coordinated and high quality' in a social media statement, though it provided no casualty figures.
The group also claimed responsibility for two other major recent attacks.
On 2 June, militants struck an army camp and airport in the northern city of Timbuktu. The day before, a raid in central Mali killed at least 30 soldiers.
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These incidents underscore the escalating insecurity in Mali and the wider Sahel, following a warning from US Africa Command about Islamist militant groups intensifying efforts to reach West Africa's coastal regions.
With inputs from agencies
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