Mali: 5 soldiers & 3 terrorists killed in ambush; second terror attack in a month

On Sunday, September 12, as many as five soldiers and three terrorists were killed when an armed terrorist group attacked a military patrol in central Mali, reported Xinhua news, citing a Malian Armed Forces statement. The ambush was set by the terrorist group on Sunday morning at 11:45 am (local time), to which the army's Operation Maliko patrol team retaliated courageously, the statement said.

It further stated that as many as five vehicles belonging to the army were also set ablaze by the terrorists. It should be noted here that this is the second attack on the Malian armed forces within a month. Last month, on August 19, as many as 15 Malian soldiers were killed in an ambush on National Road No. 6 in central Mali, Xinhua news reported. Following this, the Indian External Affairs Ministry had released a statement condemning the attack. The ministry also extended its deepest condolences to the families of fallen soldiers and to the Government of Mali. 

Earlier in the month of August, another terrorist attack had ravaged the country when as many as 51 civilians were killed. The terrorists had torched several homes after storming the villages on motorbikes in the country's northern left side. An army patrol from the Malian military was rushed to the regions following the incident.

Terrorists have continued to carry out deadly attacks, with reportedly hundreds of people killed this year in a series of murders near Mali's border with Niger and in other regions of Africa as well. It is worth mentioning here that the West African country has been witnessing massive crisis at the security, political and also economic levels, reported Xinhua news.

Mali has been marred by violence since 2012

Thousands of people were killed and hundreds of others were forced to relocate because of inter-communal violence and separatist insurgencies in the country since 2012. Meanwhile, according to Moroccan state news agency MAP, armed men killed two Moroccan truck drives and injured another in Malis' Didieni town.

The truck drivers were carrying supplies to Bamako when they were ambushed by a group of armed men on Saturday afternoon, September 11, according to the agency. The report further stated that the armed men were lurking behind trees on the side of the road and also carrying wireless communication equipment. However, they did not snatch anything from the victims, reported MAP. 

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