An al-Qaeda-linked Islamic extremist group has said it staged the Sunday resort attack in Mali that killed five people.

The U.S.-based SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors jihadi websites, said the recently formed Mali-based Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimeen claimed the attack in a telegram sent by its al-Zallaqa Media Foundation.

The extremists launched their attack Sunday on the resort area popular among foreigners. Mohamadou Doumbia, a security guard on duty at the time of the attack, said one of the militants shouted “Allah Akbar” before he rushed into the resort.

“Then a car with three jihadis entered the resort, and they started to fire their weapons,” Doumbia said.

Security forces backed by French and United Nations troops eventually regained control of the resort when they killed the four attackers and rescued more than 60 people trapped in the building. Five others died in the attack. The European Union’s foreign policy chief, Frederica Mogherini, confirmed two of the victims worked with its mission in the country.

Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimeen, which claimed the attack, is an alliance group created in March by several Mali terror groups. The group received the endorsement of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb later that month.

Extremist groups and Tuareg rebels have plagued the country’s north since 2012. But the groups have continued to target Western forces fighting their insurgency. Some 2,000 French troops and a 10,000-member United Nations peacekeeping force are currently based in the country. In November 2015, two Islamist extremist groups took 150 hostages in an attack on the Radisson Blu hotel in Bamako. The group killed 14 foreigners and six Malians before security officials regained control.

The French foreign ministry in a statement condemned the attack with “utmost firmness.” French President Emmanuel Macron pledged full support to Mali following the attack. The African Union also condemned the attack.

Pastor Raymond Koh Facebook

No word on missing Malaysian pastor

The family of a Malaysian pastor kidnapped more than four months ago has accused the police of undermining the investigation. Pastor Raymond Koh was exiting a highway on Feb. 13 when a convoy of black SUVs and motorcycles surrounded his car. Security camera footage shows some men jumping into his car and eventually driving it away with the rest of the convoy.

Police say they are still investigating the case but have provided no update. Koh’s wife, Susanna, told Open Doors USA she was “disappointed” after she read in a local newspaper the inspector general of police mentioned Koh is under investigation.

“How will this help find him and bring his abductors to justice?” she said.

Koh’s family said the police received complaints in January that he had tried to convert some Muslim teenagers to Christianity. Proselytizing is a criminal offence in the predominantly Muslim country.

Malaysia’s security officials also have yet to provide any information on three other similar disappearances. Pastor Hilmy Nor and his wife, Ruth, went missing in November. Kidnappers snatched Amri Che Mat, a Muslim social activist, from his car n November. —O.O.

Pastor Raymond Koh Facebook

World Refugee Day

The United Nations set aside June 20 as the global day to honor refugees. The world now faces one of its worst refugee crises, mostly due to war, famine, and persecution. The UN has said more than 65 million people are forcibly displaced around the globe.

More than half of the refugees come from Syria, Afghanistan, and Somalia—three nations currently in the midst of war. Conflict has also triggered famine in regions like Somalia and South Sudan, displacing millions of people in the process. More than 73,000 migrants have made the tumultuous journey across the Mediterranean Sea into Europe this year, according to the International Organization for Migration.

“On World Refugee Day … we commemorate the strength, courage, and perseverance of millions of refugees,” the UN said. —O.O.

Nigerian artist launches Instagram praise movement

Every midnight since the start of June, thousands of Nigerians have logged into an Instagram live feed for an hour-long praise and prayer session. Nigerian Gospel artist Nathaniel Bassey on May 31 shared on Instagram his plan to start the live session throughout the month of June. He shares it with the tag #HalleluyahChallenge. “Against the backdrop of the challenges in the world today, especially in our nation, with the scourge of terrorism and the recession, it has brought hope and respite,” Bassey told CNN. The sessions started with a few hundred people but have reached about 60,000 participants daily. —O.O.

Europe’s police agency cracks down on traffickers

The European Union’s police agency identified dozens of potential trafficking victims in a continent-wide crackdown on human traffickers and illegal immigration networks. The agency on Monday said it worked with partner agencies from 26 countries and identified 221 possible trafficking victims during the operation, which lasted from May 13-20. They also arrested and detained 133 suspects. “Data gathered during the operation has led to the launch of 44 new investigations in order to identify further suspects and victims linked to human trafficking cases across the EU,” Europol said in its statement. —O.O.

China plans probe into illegal preaching claims

Chinese officials say they will investigate whether two of the country’s citizens killed by Islamic State militants in Pakistan were preaching illegally. Pakistan identified the two Chinese nationals as Lee Zing Yang, 24, and Meng Li Si, 26. Gunmen abducted them at gunpoint on May 24 in the city of Quetta. Islamic State eventually claimed responsibility for their deaths. Pakistan Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan said Yang and Si entered the country on business visas but later began preaching. China’s foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang said in a statement China has not officially confirmed the deaths but the country will cooperate with Pakistan to investigate the preaching allegations. Pakistan outlaws all forms of missionary work. —O.O.