Mali’s main opposition leader Soumaila Cisse is being held hostage with six delegation members, the party said, after they were attacked while campaigning in a region where jihadists strike.

Cisse’s bodyguard was killed and two others wounded when unidentified gunmen ambushed the group between villages in Timbuktu region, the Union for the Republic and Democracy (URD) said.

“Cisse and six others are in their hands,” party spokesman Demba Traore said at a briefing, citing four witnesses who were released.

“We have not received any request for ransom.”

Militants with links to al-Qaeda and Islamic State launch attacks on civilian and military targets in the area, but there was no immediate claim of responsibility.

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