BAMAKO, Mali (AP) — Jihadis attacked a military training camp near the airport in Mali’s capital on Tuesday as explosions were heard in the area. Within hours, the government said it was temporarily closing the airport in Bamako.
A security official said there was unspecified loss of life and significant damage, without elaborating.
A sweep operation was underway after gunmen attempted to infiltrate the Faladie gendarme school, the military said in a statement. The army said the situation was under control and asked people to avoid the area.
Later, the military confirmed that the attack took place in “multiple locations,” without providing details.
JNIM, which is linked to al-Qaida, claimed responsibility for the attack. Through its media arm, the website Azallaqa, the group claimed inflicting “major human and material losses” and set aircraft on fire. Militant groups often exaggerate their claims.
Earlier in the day, an Associated Press reporter heard two explosions and saw smoke rise in the distance of the camp and airport, both located on the outskirts of the city.
A security official told the AP that the attackers entered the training camp, causing a “loss of life and material damage” but did not provide any numbers or specifics. He said they attacked both the training camp and the military base near the airport.
At least 15 suspects were arrested, said the official, who was inside the base at the time of the attack. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to reporters.
Soon after the attack, Mali's authorities closed the airport. Mohamed Ould Mamouni, communications officer at the ministry of of transport, said flights were suspended indefinitely because of the exchange of gunfire that took place near it.
The U.S. Embassy in Bamako told its staff to remain at home and stay off the roads.
Mali, along with its neighbors Burkina Faso and Niger, has for over a decade battled an insurgency fought by armed groups, including some allied with al-Qaida and the Islamic State group. Following military coups in all three nations in recent years, the ruling juntas have expelled French forces and turned to Russian mercenary units for security assistance instead.
Since taking power, Col. Assimi Goita has struggled to stave off growing attacks by the jihadis. Attacks in central and northern Mali are increasing. In July, approximately 50 Russian mercenaries in a convoy were killed in an al-Qaida ambush.
The mercenaries had been fighting mostly Tuareg rebels alongside Mali’s army when their convoy was forced to retreat into jihadi territory and ambushed south of the commune of Tinzaouaten.
Attacks in the capital of Bamako are rare, however. In 2022, gunmen struck a Malian army checkpoint about 60 kilometers (37 miles) outside the city, killing at least six people and wounding several others.
Tuesday's incident is significant because it showed that JNIM has the ability to stage a large-scale attack, Wassim Nasr, a journalist and senior research fellow at the Soufan Center, told the AP.
“It also shows once again that they are concentrating their efforts on military targets, rather than random attacks on civilian targets,” he said.
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Mednick reported from Goma, Congo, and Banchereau from Dakar, Senegal.
Baba Ahmed, Sam Mednick And Mark Banchereau, The Associated Press