AQIM shares responsibility for Mali hotel killings

BAMAKO, Mali

The head of an al-Qaeda group has claimed joint responsibility for the Nov. 20 hotel attack in Bamako, Mali, which left 19 people dead.

Abdelmalek Droukdel, leader of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, released a video late Friday sharing responsibility for the deadly attack with another extremist group, al-Mourabitoun.

The leader of that group, Algerian Mokhtar Belmokhtar, pledged allegiance to al-Qaeda last May.

Friday’s video also denied that the two organizations had pledged allegiance to Daesh, describing the group as their enemy.

Formed in 2013, al-Mourabitoun is active in northern Mali and Africa's Sahel region.

In recent years, it has claimed responsibility for several attacks in the region, including many hostage-taking incidents.