Mali’s defense minister was killed in an apparent suicide truck bomb attack at his residence near the capital, Bamako.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to several news agencies, Sadio Camara’s death is part of a wave of coordinated attacks by jihadist extremists and separatists across the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
State TV confirmed his death hours later, saying he had been wounded fighting off attackers and later succumbed to his injuries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mali’s military junta chief General Assimi Guetta was reportedly moved to safety after his residence was targeted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Meanwhile, Russian troops, who were paid by the Malian army in the north, have agreed to withdraw from the town of Kidal after two days of clashes, the separatist group Azawad Liberation Front said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mali has been plagued by insurgencies caused by groups linked to al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group, as well as the FLA, for several years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sadio Camara is a former member of the Malian army and was appointed defense minister after the military took power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At least three members of Camara’s family were also killed in the attack by al-Qaeda-linked militants in Kati on Saturday, news agencies and French media reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Government spokesman Issa Ousmane Coulibaly said in a statement on Sunday evening that Camara was killed when a suicide bomber drove a vehicle packed with explosives into his residence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The statement said he exchanged fire with the attackers and “succeeded in killing some, but he was wounded and later died of his wounds in hospital.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Mali’s defense minister was killed in an apparent suicide truck bomb attack at his residence near the capital, Bamako.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1514,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_themeisle_gutenberg_block_has_review":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[290],"class_list":["post-1513","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world","tag-mali"],"yoast_head":"\n