An al-Qaeda affiliate claimed responsibility for two attacks last Saturday in Mali, one in Sévaré in the center of the country and the other in an area near the Mauritanian border, the group said in two statements.
The Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) said the attack in Sévari left dozens dead and wounded in the ranks of the Malian army and the "mercenaries" of Russia's Wagner Group, it said in a statement confirmed on Tuesday, AFP reported.
Last Sunday, the Malian government announced that 10 civilians and 3 military personnel were killed when two car bombs exploded near Sévaré airport in the Mopti region.
Two elected local officials and a diplomatic source confirmed that the attack targeted a camp where Russian troops are present.
A second JNIM, confirmed on Tuesday, said the group killed 10 other Malian soldiers in an ambush last Saturday between Marja and Nara in the Koulikoro region near the border with Mauritania.
In 2022, Mali's ruling junta began working with Russian "trainers", while several Western countries say they are "mercenaries" from the Russian Wagner Group, which is implicated in several abuses.
Bombing and battle
The Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims announced that it detonated two car bombs, destroying part of the airport, then members of the group entered the airport and fought a two-hour battle during which dozens of military personnel and "mercenaries" Wagner were killed and wounded, according to a statement by the group confirmed by the American NGO "SITE", which says it specializes in monitoring militant groups.
The group admitted missing 15 members, while the Malian army said on Saturday it had killed 28 "terrorists".
Meanwhile, the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims said an army strike on one of its vehicles caused civilian casualties.
AFP says it contacted the Malian army on Tuesday evening and Wagner's press office about the details of what happened, but received no response from them.