The Malian military confirmed on the 8th that the extremist group attacked the Malian armed forces on the 7th near the town of Taisit, on the border between Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, killing at least 17 soldiers and 4 civilians.
Agence France-Presse quoted Malian military sources as reporting that the extremist group attack also injured 22 soldiers and left 9 soldiers missing, and the death toll may rise.
No group has yet "claimed" the attack.
In a statement on the 7th, the Mali military identified the extremist group "Islamic State of the Greater Sahara" as carrying out the attack.
According to the military's statement on the 8th, after the attack, the armed forces killed seven "possible" militants from the "Islamic State of the Greater Sahara" in the counterattack, and the other side took away "an unknown number of dead and wounded".
The Malian armed forces have a barracks near the town of Taisit on the border between Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, and are frequently attacked by regional extremist groups.
In order to compete for the sphere of influence in the border area of the three countries, the "Pro-Islamic and Muslim", which calls itself the Mali branch of the "Al Qaeda" organization, and the "Islamic State of the Greater Sahara", which declares allegiance to the extremist organization "Islamic State", often clash.
In recent years, extremist organizations associated with "Al Qaeda" and "Islamic State" have been extremely active in Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger and other Sahel regions, frequently carrying out terrorist attacks, resulting in heavy casualties. The narrow strip of land that runs across the African continent south of the desert has become the most rampant area for terrorist activities in Africa.