Al-Qaida-linked group in Mali says it has captured Russians

By BABA AHMED
Associated Press

BAMAKO, Mali (AP) — Islamic extremist rebels in Mali linked to al-Qaida say they have captured mercenary fighters from Russia’s Wagner Group in fighting earlier this month. It’s the first time that Mali’s extremist rebels known as JNIM have claimed to capture Russian fighters. The JNIM statement said the Wagner Group fighters were seized in the first week of April in the mountainous Segou region of central Mali. JNIM called the Russian fighters “criminals.” Since the beginning of the year, several European countries have denounced the presence of Wagner’s Russian mercenaries, estimated to be about 1,000, who fight alongside Malian soldiers.