Al-Qaeda claims attack on UN in Mali: Mauritanian agency

Al-Qaeda's north African franchise claimed responsibility for an ambush in Mali in which at least six United Nations peacekeepers died today, according to a news agency in neighbouring Mauritania.

Al-Akhbar, which regularly carries credible claims of responsibility by jihadist groups, said it had received a statement from Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) admitting the killing of "seven MINUSMA soldiers".