French, Mali forces kill 12 extremists after attack on army

French and Malian armed forces killed at least a dozen Islamic extremists who attacked an army camp in northern Mali on Tuesday, killing at least four soldiers and wounding another, according to a statement by the French Operation Barkhane.
The attack on the army camp in Gourma-Rharous, about 120km east of Timbuktu, also destroyed a half-dozen vehicles, army spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Diarran Kone said.
French air forces, alerted by Mali’s army, responded as the assailants fled in two pick-ups, according to the Operation Barkhane statement.
The town has been targeted regularly by Islamic extremists.
The recently formed extremist group Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimeen claimed responsibility for an attack on Malian forces in Tagharost, about 150km south of Timbuktu, according to SITE Intelligence Group which monitors online extremist activities.
The extremist group said it staged a similar attack there, storming elite force barracks and taking vehicles.