Mali: Leader of Islamist group linked to deadly attacks arrested

Security forces have arrested a regional leader of al-Qaeda-linked Islamist group Ansar Dine in central Mali on Tuesday, after it claimed an attack in the region that killed 17 soldiers, the army spokesman said.

Ansar Dine laid claim to the attack last week by gunmen who fired on troop positions, burned buildings and pillaged shops, killing 17 Malian soldiers and wounded 35 on an army base in the central town of Nampala last week.

Army spokesman Modibo Naman Traore said the state security services arrested the commander, Mahmoud Barry – nicknamed “Abou Yehiya” – as he was traveling on a road between Nampala and the town of Dogofri.

“He is close to Lyad Ag Ghali, the chief of Ansar Dine,” Traore said, adding that Barry had also planned an attack on the town of Nara that killed 12 people.

Regional and international forces intervened in 2013 to push back Islamist fighters who had hijacked the Tuareg separatist movement to take over northern Mali. The government extended a state of emergency by 10 days last week in response to attacks by Islamists wounded at least 30 people.

Source: Agencies