Three peacekeepers killed in Mali attack

BAMAKO • A powerful Al-Qaeda-linked group yesterday claimed an attack on a United Nations camp that killed three peacekeepers in Kidal in Mali's troubled north.

The Group to Support Islam and Muslims posted a statement that it had targeted the UN base, "causing significant material damage", the site Extremism Monitor reported.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

Spain to block Catalonia referendum

MADRID • The Spanish government will block any attempt to further an independence process in Catalonia, spokesman Inigo Mendez de Vigo said, after the head of the north-eastern region called a referendum on secession on Oct. 1.

REUTERS