Story by the BBC
Mali’s defence minister has been killed in an apparent suicide truck bombing on his residence near the capital Bamako.
Multiple news outlets reported the death of Sadio Camara, part of a wave of coordinated attacks by jihadist militants and separatists carried out across the country.
State TV confirmed the death several hours later, saying he died of wounds received while engaging with the attackers. Reports say the head of the military junta, Gen Assimi Goita, was moved to a safe location after his home was targeted.
Further north Russian mercenaries hired by Mali’s military agreed to withdraw from Kidal after two days of clashes, the separatist Azawad Liberation Front (FLA) group said.
For years, Mali has been plagued by insurgencies by groups affiliated with al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group, and the FLA.
Quoting Camara’s family and French media, news agencies said the attack – launched by militants affiliated with al-Qaeda in Kati on Saturday – also killed at least three of Camara’s family members.
Government spokesman Issa Ousmane Coulibaly read out a statement on Sunday evening saying Camara was killed when “a vehicle laden with explosives and driven by a suicide attacker targeted the minister’s residence”.
It said he exchanged fire with the attackers and “succeeded in neutralising some of them”. However, he was wounded and later died from his injuries in hospital.
