BAMAKO, Mali – Mali's government is playing down an attack on the French embassy this week, calling the assault that wounded two people an isolated incident.
A man believed to be from Tunisia set off a small gas bottle and fired several gunshots outside the embassy on Tuesday in Mali's capital.
But security Minister Gen. Sadio Gassama said in a statement aired late Thursday on state television that the man "is just someone who wanted people to talk about him."
The assailant has claimed he is a member of the al-Qaida network's North Africa branch, but Gassama said no links had yet been found connecting him to an international terror network.
