Mali jihadists launch 5 suicide attacks in 2 weeks...

....Get rewarded with 72 x 5 Virgins




As the jihadist alliance of al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, the Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO), and Ansar Dine has lost control of most of the towns in northern Mali, it has launched a guerrilla campaign against the French and Malian troops. Yesterday, fighters from MUJAO infiltrated the town of Gao, took control of the mayor's office, and battled French and Malian troops in the streets. Fifteen MUJAO fighters are said to have been killed, but the message is clear: As the French plan on quickly exiting Mali, the Islamist alliance will remain to wage a brutal insurgency.

In addition to guerrilla warfare, MUJAO has signaled it is capable of deploying suicide bombers. There have now been five reported suicide attacks in Mali since the first was reported on Feb. 9, in Gao. Another suicide bomber, an "Arab," struck one day later, at the same place in Gao.

According to Xinhua, a suicide bomber struck yesterday in the northern town of Kidal, killing one security personnel. And today, a pair of suicide bombers detonated two car bombs near Tessalit. Five people were killed in today's blasts.MUJAO has claimed credit for the Feb. 9 and Feb. 10 attacks in Gao, as well as yesterday's bombing in Kidal, and likely executed today's attacks in Tessalit.

The US government added MUJAO and two of its leaders to the list of global terrorists and entities in December 2012. Earlier last year, the group quickly established training camps for jihadists from across the globe following the Islamist takeover of northern Mali in March 2012. France did not intervene in Mali until January 2013, when AQIM, MUJAO, and Ansar Dine had begun marching south and threatened to take control of the capital of Bamako.

AQIM, MUJAO, and Ansar Dine have had sufficient time to establish camps and train and indoctrinate suicide bombers to be used in the Malian insurgency. As a letter written by AQIM emir Abdelmalek Droukdel shows, the jihadists were prepared for Western intervention, and planned accordingly.

First fighting for French army soldiers against Islamist rebels infiltrated in the city of Gao

United Kingdom sends 20 soldiers of Special Forces SAS and intelligence drones Reaper to Mali

Britain is to send spy planes, unmanned drones and special forces to Mali to ‘find and dismantle’ the Al Qaeda network behind the slaughter in Algeria. In an escalation of the UK’s support for French forces fighting the militants in the African country, David Cameron said he would commit ‘intelligence and counter terrorism assets’.

French Army Operation Serval Foreign forces make more advances in Mali

France sends more armoured vehicles in Mali to answer the strong resistance of Islamist rebels.

French troops’ initial clashes with Islamist militants in Mali have shown that the desert fighters are better trained and equipped than France had anticipated before last week’s military intervention, French and other U.N. diplomats said.

Why do they cover their faces? Also vehicle seems to be designed and made by infidels

The diplomats were speaking after French forces had their first encounters with Islamist fighters in recent days. The ground war appeared headed for escalation on Thursday as French troops surrounded the town of Diabaly, trapping rebels who had seized it three days ago.

French, Malian and African forces are facing off against an Islamist coalition that includes al Qaeda’s North African wing, AQIM, and the homegrown Ansar Dine and MUJWA militants. The motley mix of Tuareg rebels, Islamists and foreign jihadists has been united by the threat of foreign military intervention, which the Security Council called for last month.

Some of the militants are believed to have been trained and armed by the government of late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, who was ousted and killed by rebels in a 2011 civil war.

French airstrikes target Mali Qaeda hub

 BAMAKO: The French air force on Sunday struck the northern Malian city of Gao, which had been controlled by the Al-Qaeda offshoot MUJAO, destroying Islamist bases and forcing the insurgents to flee, residents told AFP.

"There were dozens of strikes in and around Gao. All Islamist bases have been destroyed," a resident told AFP by phone. Another witness said all Islamist fighters had been forced to flee by the airstrikes.

French army starts military operations to support Mali troops countering Islamist rebels offensive

European military aircraft with weapons and soldiers on board arrives in Mali to fight Islamic militants/jihadis/rebels

Mali extremist and terrorist groups are advancing further into government-held territories after they captured the key nothern city of Konna on Thursday. Meanwhile Mali's President Dioncounda Traore has sent a letter to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and a similar letter to French President Francois Hollande seeking assistance against the offensive.

According to witnesses cited by news agencies a military aircraft carrying weapons and foreign soldiers has arrived at an army base in Sevare in central Mali, not far from the captured town of Konna.

One witness at the airport reported seeing weapons and soldiers leaving a C-160 military transport aircraft.

The Malian defense ministry said it would hold a news conference on the situation on Friday.

One unnamed Malian official confirmed the arrival of the military aircraft and said the aircraft arrived from a European country.

On Thursday al Qaeda-linked rebels drove the Malian army out of the strategic northern town of Konna. It became a major setback to government forces trying to dislodge the Islamists from the northern territory of Mali which they captured in April 2012.

The UN Security Council held emergency talks on Mali on Thursday amid growing international concerns Islamist forces may use the country as a launch pad to stage attacks. The Council called on U.N. member states "to provide assistance to the Malian Defense and Security Forces in order to reduce the threat posed by terrorist organizations and associated groups."

After the meeting France's U.N. Ambassador Gerard Araud told reporters the groups who captured the city of Konna Thursday are now threatening the city of Mopti, which has 100,000 inhabitants. He also declined to say how his country would respond to Mali President's request, telling reporters a decision would be announced in Paris on Friday.

On December 22, 2012 the UN Security Council authorized an African-led force to support Malian forces in recovering the north but set no timeline for military action. Instead it set out benchmarks to be met before the start of offensive operations.

Mali was plunged into crisis by a March 2012 coup which allowed Tuareg rebels, who have long felt marginalized by Mali's government, to seize the north. But months later, the rebels were kicked out by Islamist groups allied with al-Qaida, which have imposed strict Shariah law throughout the north.