Mali junta offers $3.5 million reward for Sahel Al-Qaeda chief

Mali's military government, led by Assimi Goïta, offered a $3.5 million reward on Thursday for information leading to the arrest or killing of Iyad Ag Ghaly, head of Al-Qaeda's Sahel branch and leader of the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM). A $2.5 million reward was also offered for his deputy Amadou Kouffa. Ghaly, a former Malian diplomat and Tuareg rebel, is on the US terrorist list and subject to an International Criminal Court arrest warrant. The junta also offered cash for intelligence on two Tuareg rebel leaders.