11 Peacekeepers Die In Pair Of Attacks

Eight U.N. peacekeepers have been killed in an attack in northern Mali, reports Agence France-Presse. 

On Sunday, gunmen in several vehicles attacked the Aguelhok base, 125 miles (200 km) north of Kidal, a source from the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) told the agency. 

Peacekeepers responded, killing unknown number of attackers, said the source. 

This was the second deadly attack on U.N. peacekeepers in Mali in two days.

On Friday, militants struck a MINUSMA vehicle near the capital, Bamako, killing three Guinean peacekeepers, reported the U.N. News Service. 

MINUSMA continues to be the most dangerous peacekeeping mission. Fifteen blue helmets have been killed so far in 2019.

Separately, French Armed Forces Minister Florence Parly announced on Friday that French forces had killed Yahya Abou El Hamame, a leader of the Group for Support of Islam and Muslim (JNIM). He is believed to have been the second-in-command of the JNIM, reported France 24. 

JNIM has claimed several attacks on peacekeepers across Mali and the Sahel.