ISIS’ West Africa affiliate claimed responsibility on Sunday for an ambush last week that killed 33 Malian soldiers in the country’s volatile north, according to a statement published by the SITE Intelligence Group.
Fourteen soldiers were also injured in Tuesday's attack near the northern town of Tessit, located about 60 kilometers southeast of Ansongo in the Gao region, near the border with Niger, according to Mali's army.
The military earlier said that the UN peacekeeping mission known as MINUSMA helped evacuate the wounded soldiers. Helicopters from the French mission in Mali known as Operation Barkhane also helped the Malian military secure the area in the aftermath, a statement said.
ISIS said in a statement on Sunday that its fighters captured three vehicles as well as weapons and ammunition, according to SITE.
The group has claimed responsibility for previous attacks on either side of the border that have killed dozens of Malian and Nigerien soldiers. It also carried out the 2017 ambush in the Nigerien village of Tongo Tongo that killed four American special forces troops and five Nigerien soldiers.
