Qaeda affiliate claims Mali attack that killed UN peacekeepers

DAKAR: A Mali-based al Qaeda affiliate has claimed responsibility for an attack that killed 10 Chadian peacekeepers in the north of the country, the SITE Intelligence Group said on Monday, citing the Israeli Prime Minister’s visit to Chad as the motive. Jama’a Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin (JNIM) - an umbrella group for al Qaeda-linked militants in West Africa’s Sahara - launched attacks to disrupt Mali’s presidential elections in July last year and claimed credit for a spate of attacks in Burkina Faso. (Reuters)