Egypt's government condemned on Monday the militant attack that killed 12 soldiers earlier this week, which took place in a town in central Mali close to the border with Burkina Faso. Another five soldiers were injured in the attack. No militant group or extremist entity has declared responsibility for the attack yet. The militant group Ansar Al-Islam is the most active in Mali, in addition to Al-Mourabitoun, an Islamist militant group. Egypt said it stands with Mali in its fight against militancy. Mali ranks as the most dangerous country for UN's Peacekeeping mission—with 53 killed peacekeepers between 2013 and 2015—followed by the missions in Sudan, DR Congo, South Sudan, and Ivory Coast. Rebel fighters linked to Al-Qaeda occupied Northern Mali in 2012 before a French-led military operation drove them out later that year. In November 2015, gunmen stormed a hotel known to host diplomatic missions in the capital Bamako. At the time, Al-Mourabitoun claimed it was jointly responsible with Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) for the attack. It said the attack was carried out in retaliation for government aggression in northern Mali. The group also demanded the release of prisoners in France. The US Africa Command back then stated that forces stationed in Mali helped to secure the scene, while France's national gendarmerie said about 40 French special police forces based in Bamako took part in the assault on the occupied hotel.
