2017 Gao bombing
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| 2017 Gao bombing | |
|---|---|
| Part of the Mali War | |
 | |
  Gao Gao (Mali) | |
| Location | 16°15′25″N 0°00′22″W / 16.257°N 0.006°W Gao, Mali |
| Date | 18 January 2017 |
Attack type | Suicide bombing, car bombing |
| Weapons | explosives |
| Deaths | 78 (including the perpetrator) |
| Injured | 120 estimated |
| Perpetrators | Al-Mourabitoun |
On 18 January 2017, a suicide bomber drove a vehicle filled with explosives into a military camp near Gao, Mali, killing 77 people and injuring at least 115. The incident is the deadliest terrorist attack in Malian history.[1]
At around 09:00 local time, a vehicle filled with explosives entered the Joint Operational Mechanism base[2] that housed members of the Malian Army and former militants who had signed a peace agreement with the government.[3] According to an army spokesman, the vehicle was marked with insignia of the active military unit in the area.[4][5] Dozens of people were killed, though the exact number was initially unclear—Malian state broadcaster ORTM said that 47 were dead,[4] while the President's office estimated there to be 60 fatalities and 115 injured.[2] On 19 January, a French Army spokesman said that the death toll had risen to 77.[6]
Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb claimed responsibility for the attack[4] through its Al-Mourabitoun affiliate,[7] saying that the bombing had been "punishment for Mali's cooperation with France."[4] The statement attributed the attack to the Mourabitoun battalion and identified the bomber as Abdul Hadi al-Fulani.[8]
