The Malian army said it had foiled an attack on a military camp in Timbuktu on Monday morning. Local officials and eyewitnesses said a car bomb exploded in the city centre, followed by gunfire.
The Malian Armed Forces reported 13 deaths, all among the assailants. “The terrorists were quickly defeated by the swiftness of the soldiers’ reaction”, the army said in a statement on Monday afternoon.
They said they had seized weaponry and vehicles, and that the situation was under control.
Terrorist group Jama’a Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin, or JNIM, has claimed responsibility for the attack, its second in two days.
On Sunday, JNIM attacked a military base in Boulkessi in central Mali, near the border with Burkina Faso, killing more than 30 Malian soldiers, according to two security sources.
The Malian army said it had been forced to pull back but did not confirm the number of casualties.
JNIM has claimed responsibility for several recent attacks in the region.
The Al-Qaeda-linked group said it had killed 40 soldiers in an assault against a base in Dioura, in central Mali on 24 May 2025.
In total, more than 400 soldiers have reportedly been killed by insurgents since the start of May across Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso.
The three countries are ruled by military juntas that took power between 2020 and 2023 and pledged to end terrorist violence.
The three regimes have since struggled to meet this commitment.
