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Source: http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/01/15/al-qaeda-s-dangerous-play-in-mali.html
Al-Qaeda's Dangerous Play in Mali
(Daily Beast) Bruce Riedel - Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb last year successfully gained the support of Ansar al Dine, a local jihadist group in Mali, and together they now control a huge expanse of territory. In the same way that al-Qaeda and the Taliban destroyed Afghanistan's historical treasures before 9/11, they are destroying the cultural heritage in the fabled city of Timbuktu. Jihadists from across the region are now flocking to Mali to get access to training, money and weapons. The jihadi offshoot in the Maghreb is also the fastest growing al-Qaeda franchise in the world today, and most of Mali's neighbors are horrified at what is taking place. After the fall of Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, the group began to accumulate huge amounts of weapons from Libya.