An al-Qaeda-linked group has said it was behind an early morning attack in the Malian capital, Bamako.
Armed men targeted a military training school and other areas in the city, the authorities said. In its statement, the army described the assailants as “terrorists”.
After residents reported hearing gunfire on Tuesday, the army said the attackers had struck near the city’s airport but that the situation was now “under control”.
Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM) and other groups have been waging a militant islamist insurgency in Mali for more than a decade.
The jihadist faction said its “special operation” left heavy human and material losses.
JNIM is considered to be one of the most active militant groups in the wider Sahel region, having staged numerous attacks in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger.
“Early this morning, a group of terrorists tried to infiltrate the Faladie gendarmerie school,” the army said in its statement.
The school was among a number of “sensitive points” “targeted by terrorist attacks” at dawn, the security ministry said.
No mention has been made of any casualties. However, two members of the security forces told news agency AFP they had been wounded in the attack.
The security ministry assured residents that in the wake of the attack they could carry on with their activities as normal. In contrast, international organisations such as the UN have reportedly advised their staff to restrict their movement.
Videos posted earlier on social media showed black plumes of smoke rising from a part of the city.
As shots rang out, people heading to the mosque for morning prayers had to turn back, news agency Reuters said.
Bamako’s Modibo Keita International Airport has been closed following the attack.
The military seized power in a coup in 2021, accusing the government of failing to do enough to quell the insurgency.
The military expelled French troops and UN peacekeepers and brought in Russia’s Wagner group to help fight the jihadists, but there is no sign of the insurgency ending.
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