The al Qaeda affiliate based in Mali has claimed the deadly attack that claimed the lives of 10 UN peacekeepers. The 10 peacekeepers from Chad were killed in an attack on a UN’s Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) camp on Sunday that also left at least 25 others injured.
MINUSMA forces responded robustly and a number of assailants were killed in the attack that took place in the village of Aguelhok in the Kidal region. Since the attack, the al Qaeda affiliate; Jama’a Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin (JNIM) – an umbrella group for al Qaeda-linked militants in West Africa’s Sahara has claimed responsibility for the attack.
A statement from the group said the attack was carried out in response “to Chad’s diplomatic pursuits with Israel. The claim is in line with several attacks by Al Qaeda affiliates across the group who are said to be heeding the call from their emir to attack countries that forge alliances with Jerusalem.
