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BAMAKO: The bodies of militants belonging to al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb - killed during a Mauritanian army raid on their camp in neighbouring Mali - have been found, a Mauritanian military official said Saturday.
“We are seeing bodies on the ground, burned out cars...,” said the official speaking from the Mauritanian capital Nouakchott, without giving a precise death toll.
The official said troops were combing nearby forest.
“It’s complicated and dangerous; the terrorists may have mined the area.
They are dangerous. We have to take maximum care to avoid ambushes.” A local official in Mali said earlier that he “could not say from which side the casualties had come.” An independent source in the area contacted by phone spoke of a “heavy toll.” The Mauritanian army bombed the camp in western Mali’s Wagadou region on Friday evening in an operation that involved fierce fighting and left four soldiers wounded, security sources said.
Several military sources had earlier said AQIM was trying to set up a new base in the region.
Earlier this month, Mali and Mauritania agreed to lead a joint military operation to thwart al Qaeda’s north African offshoot. The operation involves hundreds of soldiers.
AQIM members have been regularly spotted in the region, suggesting it has become a base for the group.
Mali and Mauritania have previously expressed concerns about the activities of the group, along with Nigeria and Algeria.
AQIM, which has its roots in Algeria, has bases in Mali, from where it carries out armed attacks and kidnappings, particularly of Westerners. It is also involved in arms and drugs trafficking.
