Al Qaeda’s North African branch has said that it’s Sunday’s attack on a beach resort in Ivory Coast was revenge for France’s offensive against Islamist militants in the Sahel region.
A statement by Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb posted on Tuesday on the group’s social media accounts, called on France to withdraw its forces from the region. Eighteen persons were killed in the attack including three Ivorian Special Forces personnel and three of the attackers.
The statement called on all countries involved in the French invasion of Mali to withdraw. France launched Operation Serval to oust militants from northern Mali and replaced it in 2014 with Operation Barkhane which targets militants across the Sahel region.
French ministers are expected to met President Alassane Ouattara, visit the site of the attack and meet with representatives of the French community.
The attack is the first such militant raid in Ivory Coast. It is the third high profile attack in the region since November 2015 when 20 persons were killed at a hotel in Mali and 30 died in an attack on a cafe and hotel in Burkina Faso in January.
Islamic State, which is based in Syria and Iraq, had singled out France as a target. It claimed responsibility for the attack in Paris in November last year in which 130 people were killed.
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