On 5, 7, 8 and 10 January, al-Qaeda-linked jihadists launched hit-and-run attacks in the country of Mali.
On 16 January, some 20 jihadists on motorcycles opened fire on Malian soldiers manning the checkpoint at the entrance to the central Malian town of Teninkou. A three-hour-long fire-fight ensued and the jihadists withdrew.
Complex assault
Then, on 17 January, jihadists struck the UN base in Kidal, northern Mali. In what was a far more complex assault, the jihadists deployed two suicide car bombs and a barrage of eight rockets. A local government source confirmed that the attackers cried ‘Allahu Akbar’ (God is greatest), indicating that they were Islamic jihadists, not Tuareg separatists.
Re-armed
Though French forces drove the jihadists from the cities in 2012, they have now regrouped and re-armed. When jihadists took control of northern Mali in 2012, they enforced strict shari’a, targeting Christians and driving them from their homes.
