Group Linked to Al-Qaeda Claims Responsibility for Attack in Mali

A group linked to the "Al-Qaeda" organization announced on Friday its responsibility for an attack on a military base in northeastern Mali, one day after authorities blamed the same group for two attacks on another army camp and a boat, resulting in the deaths of more than 60 people. At least 49 civilians and 15 soldiers were killed when militants attacked the boat in a waterway connecting the cities of Gao and Mopti in the north of the country and raided a camp in the Bourém circle of the Gao region, which has become a stronghold for militant groups over the past decade. The interim government in Mali held the group Katibat Macina, linked to Al-Qaeda, responsible for the attacks, a claim that Reuters has not been able to verify.