"And yeah, the Milky Way looks fantastic.

More than 30 soldiers were killed in Sunday's attack, according to sources quoted by the Reuters news agency, however that figure has not been confirmed by the authorities.On Monday the same group, Jama'a Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin (JNIM), says it targeted the military in the historic city of Timbuktu.

In a statement responding to Sunday's attack, Mali's army said it "reacted vigorously", before "withdrawing" - suggesting a tactical retreat."Many men fought, some until their last breath, to defend the Malian nation," the statement added.An unnamed local source told Reuters that JNIM had left many casualties and "cleared the camp".

The attacks, the latest sign of collapsing security in Mali and the wider Sahel region, came after the United States Africa Command warned about growing efforts by various different Islamist militant groups which operate in the Sahel to gain access to West Africa's coastline.During a press conference on Friday, the commander of United States Africa Command (Africom), Gen Michael Langley, described recent attacks in Nigeria, the wider Sahel, and the Lake Chad Basin as deeply troubling, warning that the groups' access to the coast would significantly boost their capacity for smuggling and arms trafficking.

It is thought that more than 400 soldiers have been killed by militants since the beginning of last month in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, Reuters reports.

The vocalist of a thrash metal band said he felt "lucky" that the group has been selected to perform at a festival he first attended more than 15 years ago.Last year, Sir Salman published a book titled Knife reflcting on the attack, which he has described as "my way of fighting back".

It includes an imagined conversation with Matar. "I thought if I was to really meet him, to ask him questions, I wouldn't get very much out of him," Sir Salman told Radio 4."I doubt that he would open his heart to me. And so I thought, well, I could open it by myself. I'd probably do it better than a real conversation would."

The fictional conversation was brought to life by BBC film-maker Alan Yentob in an artificial intelligence animation created for a documentary last year.The results were "very startling", Sir Salman said on Monday. "I have to say it certainly made a point."