[Update] Mali military base attack, militant group claims responsibility

Islamist militant group, Ansar Dine, has claimed responsibility for the attack on an army base in central Mali that killed at least 17 soldiers.

The Nampala military camp in central Mali, had been under the control of heavily armed men from the early morning of Tuesday after they launched an attack on the camp. At least 17 soldiers were killed and 27 people wounded.

“Early Tuesday morning, heavily armed men attacked the Nampala camp,” a source in the town said.

Nampala is about 514 km from the Malian capital Bamako. The town is also close to the border with Mauritania.

“I saw a lot of smoke from the camp. The attack was well organized I think,” the source said, adding that residents were hiding in houses.

The center of Mali which hosts the military camp is also home to advocates of the Macina Liberation Front. The group is affiliated with insurgent group Ansar Dine and both regularly claim attacks in northern and central Mali.

The group appeared in early 2015 and is led by the radical Malian preacher Amadou Kufa, a Peul.

Since 2015, the jihadist attacks that were previously concentrated in the north of Mali, started extending to the center and south of the country.