AQIM shares responsibility for Mali hotel killings
Video claim comes weeks after 19 people died in attack in Malian capital
BAMAKO, Mali
The head of an al-Qaeda group has claimed joint responsibility for the Nov. 20 hotel attack in Bamako, Mali, which left 19 people dead.
Abdelmalek Droukdel, leader of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, released a video late Friday sharing responsibility for the deadly attack with another extremist group, al-Mourabitoun.
The leader of that group, Algerian Mokhtar Belmokhtar, pledged allegiance to al-Qaeda last May.
Friday’s video also denied that the two organizations had pledged allegiance to Daesh, describing the group as their enemy.
Formed in 2013, al-Mourabitoun is active in northern Mali and Africa's Sahel region.
In recent years, it has claimed responsibility for several attacks in the region, including many hostage-taking incidents.
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