French military attacks Islamist extremists in northern Mali
The sudden French military intervention against Islamist extremists in northern Mali raises questions about France’s ability to rout the well-armed militants from a forbidding section of North Africa. French officials have pledged to carry out a “short” military campaign, but there were signs Monday that the militants, including Al Qaeda’s North Africa affiliate, Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, had launched a counteroffensive.
