Security sources: Jihadist attacks in Mali's capital left more than 70 dead

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More than 70 people were killed and 200 injured in a jihadist attack on a military police training camp and a military airport in the Malian capital, security sources said on Thursday.

A security source who asked not to be identified told AFP that 77 people were killed and 255 injured in Tuesday's attacks in Bamako.

A certified, confidential official document puts the number of victims at around 100 and names 81.

The Thursday edition of the daily newspaper Le Soir reported that the funerals of around 50 military police trainees would take place on the same day.

Mali's military-led authorities have not yet released an exact death toll from the attacks, which the al-Qaeda-linked jihadist group JNIM claimed responsibility for.

The operation was the first of its kind in years and was, according to experts, a severe blow to the ruling junta.

Normally, the Malian capital is spared from attacks, which occur almost daily in some parts of the West African country.

The General Staff acknowledged late Tuesday that “some lives had been lost,” particularly among employees of the Military Police Center.

JNIM claimed that several dozen of its fighters had killed and wounded “hundreds” of opposition fighters, including members of the Russian paramilitary group Wagner.

The attack came a day after the junta-led countries of Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso marked the first anniversary of the founding of their breakaway group, the Alliance of Sahel States (AES).

The trio has been under military rule since 2020 following a series of coup attempts and announced in January that it would sever ties with the ECOWAS regional bloc.

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