Mali defence minister killed amid flurry of insurgent attacks

Car bomb kills Sadio Camara at home during coordinated assaults by rebel groups including West African al-Qaida affiliate

Mali's defence minister was killed in an attack on his residence, the government said on Sunday, a high-profile fatality during coordinated assaults staged the previous day by insurgents including the West African affiliate of al-Qaida.

A car laden with explosives driven by a suicide attacker drove into Sadio Camara's residence in the town of Kati, the spokesperson, Issa Ousmane Coulibaly, said in a statement read out on state television. A firefight ensued, and Camara sustained injuries from which he later died in a hospital, Coulibaly said, adding that Mali would observe two days of mourning.