Mali: 80 terrorists killed after Al Qaeda attacks

Mali’s military said it killed 80 al-Qaeda-affiliated militants in response to a series of coordinated attacks on military positions across the country on June 2. The attacks, claimed by Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), targeted border towns such as Diboli, Kayes, and Sandere, near Senegal, as well as locations north of the capital Bamako, including Timbuktu airport and areas bordering Mauritania.
JNIM celebrated the offensive on social media, calling it a “coordinated and high-quality” operation, according to military sources. In response, the Malian armed forces launched a counteroffensive on June 3, which reportedly killed 80 jihadist fighters.
“The enemy has suffered heavy losses wherever it has encountered our security and defense forces,” army spokesman Colonel Souleymane Dembélé said in a statement broadcast on state television. The clashes highlight the growing instability in the Sahel region, where jihadist groups continue to expand their activity.