Mali Islamist militant leader announces unilateral cease-fire

BAMAKO (Reuters) – The head of the Islamist militant group Ansar Dine has agreed to cease attacks in Mali that have killed dozens of civilians, soldiers and U.N. peacekeepers this year, Mahmoud Dicko, president of the country’s top Islamic body, said on Monday.

Attacks by al Qaeda-linked Ansar Dine, one of the main Islamist groups operating in the West African nation, have spread to parts of the west and south previously considered secure, raising regional fears of a spillover in violence.

(Reporting By Tiemoko Diallo; Writing by Aaron Ross; Editing by Joe Bavier, Larry King)