Second Battle of Timbuktu

On 30 March, according to a spokesmen for the Malian army, jihadists fighters from (Al-Qaeda in Islamic Magreb) AQIM attacked the city late Saturday night and have continued fighting Sunday. The attack itself started at about 10 pm local time, when a jihadist suicide bomber blew himself up at a Malian military checkpoint at the western entrance to Timbuktu. "The jihadist was on foot and died on the spot, but his explosives slightly injured one of our soldiers", said Capt. Samba Coulibaly, a spokesmen for the Malian military in Timbuktu. According to Mali army Captain Modibo Naman Traore, the suicide bombing served only to distract the military and allow a group of jihadists to infiltrate by night. A Malian soldier taking part in the fighting said: "The jihadists are a few. They sneaked into the military camp and the city of Timbuktu. There is shooting at the moment, but we'll get to the end". Timbuktu residents say as of Sunday afternoon shooting can still be heard in the city. On Sunday morining, the Malian army launched operations to track down the infiltrated jihadists. By the mid-afternoon fighting left a Malian soldier and two terrorists dead. A French unit of around 50 soldiers were despatched to reinforce the Malian army in Timbuktu, and got further back-up from French fighter jets. Residents claimed the suicide bomber blew himself up on one of the only paved roads at the heart of Timbuktu close to Hotel Colombe, the town's main hotel used by both journalists and aid workers. A Malian officer reported to AFP that fighting began when the Islamists rebels opened fire on two sides of the center of the city, targeting the hotel serving as the temporary residence for the regions governor as well as a Malian army base. The hotel had been hosting a large government delegation. The guests were then immediately evacuated to a nearby French army base. According to a hotel employee jihadists fighters had taken over the back of the hotel complex, near the swimming pool. Another group of fighters took cover inside the local high school. Timbuktu's mayor Ousmane Halle also confirmed that radical Islamists moved to the high school, near the army camp in the city. During the fighting, a Malian soldier was fatally injured and succumbed to his wounds later that afternoon. A Malian officer then reported that fighting itself was taking place outside the camp, when a group of soldiers conducting late night searches discovered that a group of jihadists had infiltrated into a nearby building. Two suicide bombers then blew themselves with explosive belts without causing any casualties on the army. The bodies of four other terrorists were discovered behind the military camp. A Nigerian civilian was also killed when a jihadist suicide bomber took him hostage in the northern part of the city. During a shoot-out between Malian troops and his captor, both the jihadist and Nigerian were killed. By late Sunday, relative calm had been restored to several parts of the city.

On Monday morning, Malian troops searched house-to-house to ensure that there were no more remaining fighters infiltrated as civilians. Meanwhile, residents say five civilians were killed in cross-fire during the fighting. At least three jihadists were claimed to have been killed according to a Malian military source during a sweep by French and Malian soldiers. The statement said: "During our clean-up operation, the Mali and French armies destroyed a public building in the centre of the town where the terrorists were hiding. We have found the bodies of three terrorists". The incident began when a group of two to three militants managed to enter a small house located on the side of the army camp. A Malian soldier was killed when he went in, thinking the jihadists had already fled the city. It is believed after that a French aircraft then bombarded that house killing the occupants in the air raid. A spokesmen for the Malian army in Timbuktu said there were still rebel movements behind the military camp in the town center and in the alleyways by the 14th century Dinjareyber mosque, a UNESCO World Heritage Site (pictured). By Monday afternoon, according to the French ministry of defense jihadists fled Timbuktu to the northeast direction after Mirage and Rafalle jets flew over the city to hunt down the fighters. According to French authorities, three Malian soldiers were killed in the fighting and a dozen more were wounded.