French forces widen air raid campaign in Mali
15 Jan 2013 5:55 AM IST
French military forces widened their bombing campaign against Islamic extremists occupying northern Mali, launching airstrikes for the first time in central Mali on Monday, to combat a new threat as the four-day-old offensive continued to grow.
Early on Monday, an intelligence agent confirmed that shots rang out near the Diabaly military camp in what is still nominally government-held territory, and that soon after, jets were heard overhead, followed by explosions. The agent insisted on anonymity because he is not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.
A Malian commander in the nearby town of Niono said the bombardments did not stop the Islamist fighters and that they occupied Alatona.
REBELS IN AFRICAN NATION VOW TO AVENGE FRENCH OFFENSIVE
Islamist forces based in northern Mali vowed to avenge France’s fierce military offensive against them on French soil.
‘France has attacked Islam. We will strike at the heart of France,’ said a leader of the Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO), an offshoot of Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).
Asked where they would strike, Abou Dardar said by telephone: ‘Everywhere.
In Bamako, in Africa and in Europe.’
Authorities in France were already on high alert over fears of a backlash on home soil by Islamist extremists.
Early on Monday, an intelligence agent confirmed that shots rang out near the Diabaly military camp in what is still nominally government-held territory, and that soon after, jets were heard overhead, followed by explosions. The agent insisted on anonymity because he is not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.
A Malian commander in the nearby town of Niono said the bombardments did not stop the Islamist fighters and that they occupied Alatona.
REBELS IN AFRICAN NATION VOW TO AVENGE FRENCH OFFENSIVE
Islamist forces based in northern Mali vowed to avenge France’s fierce military offensive against them on French soil.
‘France has attacked Islam. We will strike at the heart of France,’ said a leader of the Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO), an offshoot of Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).
Asked where they would strike, Abou Dardar said by telephone: ‘Everywhere.
In Bamako, in Africa and in Europe.’
Authorities in France were already on high alert over fears of a backlash on home soil by Islamist extremists.
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