Al-Qaeda has claimed responsibility for two attacks that killed at least two firefighters and three civilians on Monday near Bamako.
In a statement authenticated by the U.S. NGO site, which specializes in tracking radical groups, the jihadists of the al-Qaeda affiliated ‘Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims’ claimed responsibility for two simultaneous attacks against a fire station and an environmental and forest protection unit located near the Malian capital Bamako.
The attacks targeted the towns of Markacoungo and Kassela, both on the Bamako-Ségou highway in southeastern Mali, an area where they are relatively rare.
Al Qaeda did not give a toll for these attacks. The Malian Ministry of Security and Civil Protection said Tuesday that the Markacoungo attack killed two firemen and three civilians.