Mali investigators rule out terror in Goita knife attack - Report

Malian investigators have ruled out terrorism as a motivation in the attempted stabbing attack on the head of the country's ruling junta Colonel Assimi Goita, French broadcaster RFI reported on Saturday.

Citing a source close to the probe, RFI reported that the suspect had been trained to handle weapons and that he was not acting alone.

Goita was attacked during eid al-Adha prayers at the Grand Mosque in Bamako on Tuesday. The attacker missed him and wounded Goita's guard instead.

He was immediately evacuated from the scene to the Kati military base near Bamako.

Goita later today state TV that he was doing very well. He dismissed the knife attack as an isolated incident.

Goita was sworn in as Mali's interim president after launching a coup against another transitional government in which he served as a vice president.

He has vowed to stick to the old transition schedule which prescribes a return to civilian rule next February.