French forces take action against Mali Islamists

BAMAKO, Mali (AP) — France launched airstrikes Friday to help the government of Mali defeat al-Qaida-linked militants who captured more ground this week, dramatically raising the stakes in the battle for this vast desert nation.French President Francois Hollande said the "terrorist groups, drug traffickers and extremists" in northern Mali "show a brutality that threatens us all." He vowed that the...

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Somalia: French forces attack militant base

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — French commandoes on Saturday attacked a base of Islamist militants in Somalia in a hostage rescue attempt, a Somali intelligence official said. Residents of the town said they heard explosions and gunfire.The attack occurred in the town of Bulomarer, and comes on the heels of French military intervention in Mali, another African country. The intelligence official, who insisted...

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Mali war escalates with French intervention

BAMAKO, Mali (AP) — With Islamist militants controlling more than half of the northwest African nation of Mali and threatening the rest of government-held territory, France launched airstrikes in a dramatic escalation of the conflict that some observers have called the next Afghanistan. French commandoes also reportedly attacked an Islamist base in Somalia to try to rescue a French hostage.The raid...

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