A Nigerian fighter jet participating in military operations in Mali crashed in western Niger, killing both crew members, Nigerian officials said May 6, Reuters reported.

The United States will send about 10 military personnel to Mali to provide liaison support to French and African troops and 12 soldiers to guard the U.S. Embassy in Bamako, a Pentagon spokesman said April 30, The Washington Post reported.

A French special forces soldier was killed and two more were injured during a reconnaissance mission in northeastern Mali on April 29 when their vehicle was hit by an explosion, according to a statement by the French ministry of defense.

Malian security forces have broken up an Islamist cell centered in Bamako belonging to the Movement for Unity and Jihad in West Africa, a police source said April 28, AFP reported.

The U.N. Council approved a resolution that will establish a 12,600-strong peacekeeping force in Mali on April 25, AP reported in a message posted on Twitter.

French troops in Timbuktu ceded control of the city to forces of the African-led support mission in Mali, RFI reported April 24.

Chad is beginning to pull its troops out of Mali, Chadian President Idriss Deby said April 15, the BBC reported.

At least three Chadian soldiers were killed in Kidal on April 12 when a suicide bomber detonated himself, three witnesses said, Reuters reported.

Malian troops conducted house-to-house searches in Timbuktu on April 1 after fighting for hours with Islamist rebels in the city on March 31, Reuters reported.

Malian soldiers backed by French fighter jets clashed with Islamist militants in Timbuktu after militants used a car bomb to cover their overnight incursion into the city, sources said March 31, Reuters reported.