What to know about the largest coordinated attack in over a decade by militants and rebels in Mali

ABC NewsLiveVideoShowsShopInterest Successfully AddedWe'll notify you here with news aboutTurn on desktop notifications for breaking stories about interest? OffOnStream onWhat to know about the largest coordinated attack in over a decade by militants and rebels in MaliAn alliance of al-Qaida-linked militants and separatists has launched the largest coordinated attack in over a decade in MaliByMARK BANCHEREAU Associated PressApril 27, 2026, 3:50 PM1:19This photo released by Front of Azawad Liberation, shows militants on the streets in Kidal, northern, Mali, Saturday, April 25, 2026. (Front of Azawad Liberation/ ViaAP)The Associated PressDAKAR, Senegal -- An alliance of al-Qaida-linked militants and separatists carried out the largest coordinated attack in over a decade in Mali, marking a dangerous escalation in what is widely considered one of the world’s deadliest regions for extremist violence. The weekend attack marked also a challenge for Russia, which has partnered with Mali’s military-led government after it distanced itself from former allies such as France. The attack was unprecedented for its scale — both for the number of locations struck and the prominence of the targets, analysts said Monday.Authorities have not yet released an official death toll but among those killed was Mali’s defense minister who died when a car bomb targeted his home.The near-simultaneous attacks on Saturday struck across the country — including the airport of the country's capital, Bamako, the nearby garrison town of Kati, and several northern and central cities such as Kidal and Sevare. The separatist Azawad Liberation Front said the key northern city of Kidal is now in its hands. Kidal's capture in a similar militant-insurgent alliance over a decade ago was at the root of the security crisis that has shaken Mali.Here’s what to know.Landlocked Mali is part of the Sahel, a vast strip of land south of the Sahara Desert that has become the epicenter of extremist violence in recent years.According to last year's Global Terrorism Index by the Institute for Economics and Peace, the region now accounts for 51% of deaths worldwide caused by violent extremism, up from 1% almost two decades ago. Deaths from extremist attacks have increased nearly tenfold since 2019.For more than a decade, Mali has been plagued by militants affiliated with al-Qaida and the Islamic State group, as well as a separatist rebellion in the north.Tuareg separatists and jihadi groups worked together before, in 2012, when they seized much of northern Mali, triggering a collapse of the state's authority that prompted a French military intervention.The al-Qaida linked JNIM group — Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin — has expanded in recent years, seizing vast swaths of territory and recently blockading off Bamako from fuel shipments. The group is also active in neighboring Burkina Faso and Niger, and has struck in Benin, Ivory Coast and Togo.JNIM pulls its resources by extortion of “taxes” from local populations, stealing cattle and controlling the gold mining in the region. It stages sieges, kidnappings and sets off explosions to dominate supply routes.Ulf Laessing, head of the Sahel program at the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, said the group had a “full war chest” ahead of the attacks, after reportedly collecting at least $50 million in ransom for the release of a member of the royal family in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and two of his business associates kidnapped near Bamako last…

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