At least 15 Malian soldiers and three civilians were killed Wednesday in three coordinated attacks blamed on “terrorists” in the center and west of the country, the Malian army said in a statement.

In Kalumba, near the border with Mauritania, “the death toll on the friendly side is 12 dead, including three civilians from a road construction company,” according to the press release signed by Colonel Souleymane Dembélé, director of information and public relations of the Army.

In Sokolo, in the center, the army reports six dead soldiers and 25 wounded, five of them seriously. The army claims to have killed 48 assailants and “neutralized 3 terrorist vans 15 km from Sokolo with occupants estimated at about fifteen fighters and their equipment”, it is written.

Al-Qaeda increases the pressure

A third attack occurred during the night in Mopti (center), without causing fatalities, according to the same source. The army claims to have “knocked down” the attackers.

This attack occurs five days after the one in Kati, within the Malian military apparatus, claimed by the jihadists of Katiba Macina, affiliated with Al-Qaeda. This suicide attack with two truck bombs had killed one Malian soldier and injured six, including a civilian.

The day before, a series of almost simultaneous raids attributed to jihadists had affected six different towns in Mali, in the Koulikoro (near Bamako) as well as Ségou and Mopti (center) regions.

Armed men identified by the army as members of the Katiba Macina, affiliated with the jihadist group Al-Qaeda, had attacked checkpoints, gendarmerie, military camp, in particular in the town of Kolokani, about a hundred kilometers north of Bamako.