At least three civilians were killed and four foreigners working for a United Nation-contracted mine-clearing operation wounded in a suicide attack on Monday, November 12 in the country’s violence-hit north. The attack, claimed by the Group to Support Islam and Muslims (GSIM), a fusion of three Malian jihadist groups allied with Al-Qaeda took place in the city of Gao at around 8:00 pm (2000 GMT).

Mali has been struggling to return to stability after Islamist extremists linked to Al-Qaeda jihadists took control of the north in early 2012, prompting a military intervention by France. The extremists were routed in the French operation in 2013, but large stretches of the landlocked African state remain out of government control.