Dozens have died after ISIS launched a brutal attack on an army base in Sahel State, Mali, according to reports. The terrorist organisation claims to have overrun a military barracks in Tissit in the east of the country, with photographs online showing buildings and vehicles burning.
According to reports, as many as 40 soldiers are believed to have been killed. The attack comes just days after the Russian mercenary group Wagner announced that it was withdrawing from the country following "the completion of its main mission". The group had been operating in the country since 2021 and claimed on Telegram that it had "fought terrorism side-by-side with the people of Mali", killing "thousands of militants and their commanders, who terrorised civilians for years".
The country has been in the midst of a militant Islamist insurgency for over a decade and has seen an increase in jihadist attacks on military bases in recent weeks.
Last Sunday, al-Qaeda affiliated group launched a devastating attack on an army base in the town of had Boulikessi where 30 soldiers are believed to have lost their lives.
The attack was carried out by Jama'a Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin (JNIM) who later claimed responsibility for the assault in the historic city of Timbuktu.
Over the weekend, Malian soldiers pulled out of a major army base in the centre of the country following the second of two deadly attacks by Islamist forces.
The Malian military seized control of the country in 2021 and broke off ties with France, a colonial power who had soldiers deployed in the country to help combat the threat of Jihadist groups in the country.
Since then, it has welcomed increasing levels of Russia influence including the deployment of Wagner troops, closely affiliated with the Kremlin.
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