BAMAKO, Mali: A military training camp in Mali\u2019s capital was attacked early Tuesday, the army said.
\nCol. Marima Sagara, deputy director of the army\u2019s communications service, said it received reports of an attack on the gendarme training school in Bamako but had no further information. An Associated Press reporter heard two explosions and saw smoke rise in the distance. The training school is located on the outskirts of the city.
\nIt was unclear who the attackers were, how many there were and whether the situation was under control.
\nMali, 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-Qaeda and the Daesh 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.
\nAttacks in central and northern Mali are increasing. In July, approximately 50 Russian mercenaries in a convoy were killed in an Al-Qaeda ambush.
\nThe mercenaries had been fighting mostly Tuareg rebels alongside Mali\u2019s army when their convoy was forced to retreat into jihadi territory and ambushed south of the commune of Tinzaouaten.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
BAMAKO, Mali: A military training camp in Mali\u2019s capital was attacked early Tuesday, the army said. Col. Marima Sagara, deputy director of the army\u2019s communications service, said it received reports of an attack on the gendarme training school in Bamako but had no further information. An Associated Press reporter heard two explosions and saw smoke […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":431778,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-431772","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n