Tuesday, June 02, 2015

Al-Qaeda Claims Two Attacks Against UN in Mali
TVC, Lagos

Al-Qaeda's North Africa arm says it carried out two attacks against UN peacekeepers in Mali last week, according to the Mauritanian Al-Akhbar news agency.

Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) said it was behind a "rocket attack on a Minusma base" in northern Mali on Monday and a landmine explosion on Thursday targeting a UN convoy in the restive north, according to Al-Akhbar, citing AQIM spokesperson Abderrahmane Al-Azawadi.

The Al-Akhbar agency regularly carries jihadist statements.

On Thursday, Minusma announced that three Burkina Faso peacekeepers were wounded when their convoy triggered at least one mine in the Timbuktu region.

The AQIM spokesperson however said the mine blast had caused "three deaths", Al-Akhbar reported.

Minusma commander Major General Michael Lollesgaard from Denmark and the mission's police chief Abdounasir Awale were part of the convoy, Minusma sources told AFP news agency.

A Minusma security source based in Timbuktu said it was "very likely" that the mines had been laid just before the convoy arrived, specifically targeting the two commanders, as security checks had been carried out along the route a few hours earlier.

- See more at: http://www.tvcnews.tv/?q=article/al-qaeda-claims-two-attacks-against-un-mali#sthash.FEdE9iXT.dpuf

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