BAMAKO, July 28 (Xinhua) -- Mali special forces have arrested Mahamoud Barry alias Abou Yehiya, a top commander of the Ansar Dine terrorist group that has been accused of carrying out numerous attacks in northern Mali, a security source said Wednesday.
The source said Barry was arrested on Tuesday near Wagadou forest, close to the border with Mauritania.
The suspect who was born in 1979, is a close confidant of Amadou Kouffa, the leader of Macina Liberation Front, a terror group that closely works with Ansar Dine.
The source said Barry was the commander of the attack against Nara police brigade in June 2015.
He was also accused of being part of the terrorists who planned last week's attack against a Malian army camp in Nampala, Central Mali, which left 17 soldiers dead and 35 others injured.
