BAMAKO, Mali — A weekend attack by militants affiliated with the Islamic State killed 48 people in the Ménaka region of eastern Mali, a lawmaker told The Associated Press on Tuesday.
Fighters from the Islamic State in Sahel Province, also known as ISSP, attacked overnight from Sunday into Monday. The victims included children and elderly people, said Moussa Ag Acharatoumane, a Tuareg leader and member of the National Transitional Council.
According to Acharatoumane, the armed group targeted civilians and accused them of revealing ISSP positions to the Malian army, which had conducted a drone strike against the group.
ISSP operates primarily in Mali’s Ménaka region, where it faces strong competition from the militant group Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin, or JNIM. It also operates in neighboring Burkina Faso and Niger. The group has not claimed responsibility for the attack.
On Monday, the Malian military announced that it had located a major base containing “several terrorist elements as well as military equipment and logistical supplies” 65 kilometers (40 miles) southwest of Ménaka.
“After confirming the intelligence gathered and assessing the situation, the site was targeted and successfully struck,” the army said in a statement.
The vast Sahel region has become the world’s deadliest area for extremism. The military governments of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger have struggled to curb armed attacks despite taking power and seeking assistance from Russia.