A breakaway faction of an al Qaeda-linked group and Tuareg rebels said Monday they were in joint control of Kidal in northern Mali, the only Islamist bastion left for French-led troops to reconquer.

"We are ensuring security of Kidal," said Mohamed Ag Aharib, a spokesman of a group that broke away from the Ansar Dine (Defenders of the Faith). He said they had allied themselves with the Tuareg rebels.

[AFP]