The Azawad Liberation Front and allied jihadist groups launch coordinated attacks across northern Mali and assault the Kéniéroba prison near Bamako, the Malian army reports.At Anéfis the Azawad Liberation Front seizes multiple posts and fights inside the town while the army resists; Anéfis and Aguelhok are the last army-held positions in Kidal after earlier large-scale assaults more than two months ago that weakened the military junta and killed the defense minister.Residents in Gao and Sévaré report gunfire, loud explosions and aircraft sightings, prisoners at Kéniéroba report ongoing gunfire, and officials say the offensive underscores persistent insurgencies linked to
Al-Qaeda and the
Islamic State alongside a separatist rebellion.