Mali: army in deadly clashes with al Qaeda

Mali’s army and suspected al Qaeda militants fought two gun battles over the weekend that killed dozens and left about 20 soldiers missing in a remote desert region, military sources said.

A Malian military patrol clashed with militants near Tessalit, in Mali’s north, on Friday and were ambushed early Saturday morning. Mali’s army confirmed firefights took place but gave no details.

The violence is the latest in a series of incidents in the vast desert region which has long hosted rebels and smugglers and now increasingly is being used by militants known as al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb .

“The army fought very deadly clashes with Islamists on July 3 and 4 northeast of Timbuktu. After very heavy fighting, there were losses on both sides,” the army said late on Sunday. The statement gave no details on the death toll.

via Mali army says in deadly clashes with al Qaeda – Yahoo! Philippines News.

AQ has claimed killing 28 soldiers of Mali, adding:

The group also threatened to carry out more such raids, warning President Amadou Toumani Toure not to be led by “the Crusaders and the collaborator, apostate Algerian regime” to fight against them.