Although it has dropped out of the headlines, the jihad in Mali continues. “Suicide bomber kills two Chadian U.N. troops in Mali,” by Adama Diarra for Reuters, October 23 (thanks to all who sent this in):
(Reuters) – A suicide bomber killed two Chadian troops from the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Mali and injured six others in an attack on a checkpoint at the entry to the northern town of Tessalit on Wednesday, a U.N. spokesman said.
Hours after the late-morning raid, gunfire rang out across the desert town as Chadian and Malian troops hunted down other attackers believed to have been dropped off before the explosion, officials said.
No group has claimed the attack. Al Qaeda-linked Islamists, who occupied northern Mali last year, have carried out a number of suicide attacks on northern towns in recent months since they were scattered by a French offensive launched in January.
Olivier Salgado, spokesman for the U.N. mission that is deploying in Mali to take over security responsibilities from French troops, said the bomber drove an explosive-laden vehicle to the checkpoint before blowing himself up.“The provisional toll is two dead and six injured,” he said.
Cheick Fantamady Bouare, the local prefect, said four people had been killed in total, including a child. The bomber was believed to have ferried other fighters to the town’s outskirts before detonating his charge, Bouare said.
Another U.N. official, who asked not to be named, said gunfire continued into the afternoon….