Dakar | Malian Minister of Defence Gen. Sadio Camara was killed in an attack on Saturday that saw jihadist and rebel forces seize towns and military bases across the country, according to a military officer and two other sources on Sunday.

“Unfortunately, the Ministry of Defence, Gen. Sadio Camara, has been killed during the attack which targeted his house yesterday,” said a military official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he did not have permission to speak to the media. Two other people, a civil society leader and a security member, confirmed the information.

The Malian government has not commented yet.

Separatist fighters on Saturday joined Islamic militants in launching one of the biggest coordinated attacks on the Malian army in the capital and several other cities that left at least 16 wounded.

The separatists have been fighting for years to create an independent state in northern Mali, while Al-Qaeda and Islamic State-aligned militants have fought the government for over a decade.