12 die in overnight attack against Malian rebels

AN attack overnight in northern Mali by a pro-government armed group including suicide bombers killed a dozen people, security sources said Wednesday.

“GATIA fighters, accompanied by suicide bombers, attacked a rebel Tuareg and anti-government Arab position in the night from Tuesday to Wednesday near the town of Tabankort. There were a dozen deaths in total,” a Western military source told AFP.

A security source in MINUSMA — the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Mali — confirmed the deaths, adding that two fighters blew themselves up while a third was killed before he was able to detonate his explosives.