U.N. base in Mali hit by mortars; three killed

DAKAR, Senegal — A mortar attack on a United Nations base in northern Mali’s Kidal early Saturday killed two U.N. peacekeepers and a contractor, the mission spokesman said.

The attack came eight days after Islamic extremists attacked a luxury hotel in the capital, Bamako, killing 20 people.

The Saturday assault in Kidal also left 20 people injured, with four in serious condition, said Olivier Salgado, spokesman for the U.N. mission in Mali.

Guinea’s Ministry of Defense said two of its soldiers were killed. A statement by the U.N. Security Council condemning the attack said

the contractor killed was from Burkina Faso.

A Kidal resident said attackers fired about six shells at dawn.

“The earth vibrated, then I saw two flares in the air, and then another one burst, which gave me the impression of being a response by the U.N.,” Assarid Ag Cheick said.

No group claimed responsibility for the attack in the country’s restless north, but Islamic extremists are suspected.

“I want to reiterate that these attacks will not impede the determination of the United Nations to support the Malian people and the peace

process,” said Mongi Hamdi, the head of the U.N. mission. “I express my solidarity and salute the brave men and women serving [the U.N. mission] throughout the country for their efforts to bringing lasting peace to Mali in these difficult conditions.”

Northern Mali has been unstable since it fell to Tuareg separatists and then Islamic extremists after a military coup in 2012. Separatists, militia groups and the government signed a peace deal in June.

In 2013, the French pushed Islamic militants out of Mali’s northern cities and towns, but jihadis continue to carry out attacks, often targeting U.N. peacekeepers.

Extremists extended their reach farther south this year,

including an assault in March on a Bamako restaurant and bar popular with foreigners that killed five people, and another in August on a hotel in Mali’s central town of Sevare that killed 13. Islamic extremist group Al-Mourabitoun claimed responsibility for both attacks.

The group has said it worked with al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb on the Nov. 20 assault on the Radisson Blu hotel in Bamako. However, other militant groups also claimed responsibility for the attack.

Malian authorities have said they arrested two men in the attack.