Gunmen hit resort, kill five people in Mali

BAMAKO, Mali — An al-Qaida-linked Islamic militant group said Monday that it staged an attack the previous day on a resort area in Mali popular with foreigners, killing five people.

One of the victims was identified as a Portuguese soldier who had been serving in the European Union mission to stabilize the West African country wracked by mounting extremism.

The recently formed Mali-based Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimeen extremist group has claimed responsibility for the attack, according to SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors jihadi websites.

A Malian soldier and three civilians — a Chinese citizen, a Malian, and a French-Gabonese dual national — also were slain in the worst terror attack to strike Bamako since late 2015.

EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said the Malian victim worked for the European delegation in Bamako.

The attack struck a resort area that was considered safe enough that it was an approved rest-and-recreation location for soldiers with the EU mission. It was not immediately clear how the attackers managed to overpower the security staff and fire at guests.

Mali’s special forces arrived on the scene not long after the reports of shots fired at Campement Kangaba, known for its three swimming pools and serene surroundings as an escape from the bustling capital’s heat and traffic.

Initially, the country’s security minister said one of the wounded attackers had managed to escape, but officials on Monday said they had accounted for all the jihadis.

“At this hour, all of the terrorists have been killed. The situation is under control,” Mali’s Security Minister Salif Traore said.

Witnesses described a chaotic scene Sunday afternoon, with one man saying the first jihadi on the scene arrived by motorcycle shouting, “Allahu Akbar.” Three others subsequently arrived in a vehicle and began firing their weapons. One of the attackers was subdued by a French soldier who happened to be at Campement Kangaba over the weekend, according to a witness at the scene. The attacker was wounded and later died.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, which took place during the final week of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. However, the attack resembled a number of others carried out over the past two years by the local affiliate of al-Qaida in West Africa.

Sunday’s violence also came about a week after the U.S. State Department warned of possible attacks on Western diplomatic missions and other locations in Bamako that Westerners frequent.

Religious extremism in Mali once was limited to northern areas, prompting the French military in 2013 to lead a military operation to oust jihadis from power in the major towns in the north. But the militants have continued targeting Malian forces and peacekeepers, making it the most dangerous U.N. mission in the world.

There are no French troops based in Bamako, but about 2,000 French troops are based in northern Mali fighting Islamic extremists. French President Emmanuel Macron was informed about the attack and was following the events carefully, an official in his office said.

In recent years, the extremists have attacked more sites frequented by Westerners in the capital, Bamako.

In March 2015, five people died when militants hit a popular restaurant in the capital. An attack on the Radisson Blu Hotel in Bamako later that year left 20 dead — six Malians and 14 foreigners.