Six soldiers die in attacks targeting Mali military bases

By BABA AHMED
Associated Press

BAMAKO, Mali (AP) — Mali’s army says coordinated attacks have struck three army bases across Mali, killing at least six soldiers and injuring nearly a dozen more in the West African nation. Mali has been struggling to stem jihadi violence for eight years. A military official not authorized to speak to the media said the unprecedented attacks involved car bombs and that the camp in Bapho was particularly hard hit, with shrapnel from one explosion damaging a helicopter. Michael Shurkin, a former political analyst at the CIA, said the attacks “appear well-coordinated.” He said, despite claims by the governdment, this “is not the work of an adversary whose back is up against a wall.”