BAMAKO, April 25 -- Militants staged attacks in Mali's capital Bamako and in several locations in the interior of the country this morning, the Mali army said, in an apparently coordinated assault involving multiple ‌groups.

Two loud explosions and sustained gunfire were heard shortly before 6am (0600 GMT/2pm Malaysian time) near Mali's main military base Kati outside the capital Bamako, and soldiers were deployed to block off roads in the area, a Reuters witness said.

There was similar unrest at around the same time in the central town of Sevare and the town of Kidal and city of Gao in northern Mali. "There's gunfire everywhere," a witness in Sevare said.

Mali is battling insurgencies by the West Africa affiliates of al Qaeda an...