International Desk : At least 64 people have been killed after the attacks by suspected jihadists on an army base and a passenger boat on the Niger river in northern Mali, the official said.

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According to a government statement the two separate attacks on Thursday targeted the Timbuktu boat on the river and an army position at Bamba, in the northern Gao region, with “a provisional toll of 49 civilians and 15 soldiers killed.

It did not specify how many died in each assault, but the assaults were “claimed” by a group affiliated with al-Qaida. Earlier, the Malian army said on social media that the boat was attacked by “armed terrorist groups.

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The vessel, plying an established route between cities along the river, was targeted by “at least three rockets” that aimed at its engines, the operator Comanav said separately.

The Niger is a vital transport link in a region where road infrastructure is poor and railways absent.

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The attack comes after an al-Qaida-linked alliance, the Support Group for Islam and Muslims (GSIM), announced last month that it was blockading Timbuktu, the historic crossroads city of northern Mali.

Sun News/MR

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