Al Qaeda-linked group claims Mali attack

NOUAKCHOTT: A Malian militant group with links to al Qaeda has claimed responsibility for an attack that killed two French soldiers in the West African country on Wednesday. The soldiers were killed after their armoured vehicle was hit by an explosive device near Mali´s border with Niger and Burkina Faso, an area that has become dangerous for international forces seeking to quell insurgencies in remote Sahel region. In October, militants killed four US troops over the border in Niger, sparking a debate about America´s combat role in the unpoliced scrubland just south of the Sahara.