U.S. steps up involvement in Mali

Malian soldiers transport in a pickup truck a dozen suspected Islamist rebels on Friday, February 8, after arresting them north of Gao. A suicide bomber blew himself up on February 8 near a group of Malian soldiers in the northern city, where Islamist rebels driven from the town have resorted to guerilla attacks.

Malians look at the charred motorcycle used by a suicide bomber before he blew himself up near a group of Malian soldiers on February 8. The act marked the first suicide attack in the embattled west African nation since the start of a French-led offensive to oust the Islamists from Mali's north, where they had controlled key towns for 10 months.

A convoy of French army vehicles head toward Gao on February 7. France is mulling over when to hand off its four-week-old intervention to U.N. peacekeepers.

A man searches through the ruins of a building destroyed by French airstrikes in Douentza, Mali, on Tuesday, February 5. The town was retaken by French and Malian troops in January.

A child holds up a machine gun round found in the ruins of a building destroyed by French airstrikes in Douentza, Mali, on February 5.

A child leads a donkey cart past a destroyed Malian army armored vehicle near Douentza, Mali, on February 5.

Malians welcome France's President Francois Hollande as he arrives in Timbuktu on Saturday, February 2. French-led troops are working to secure the area against Islamist militants.

A man sweeps the red carpet at Mali's Mopti airport on January 2 before the arrival of Hollande and Mali's interim President Dioncounda Traore.

French soldiers patrol next to the Djingareyber mosque, on January 31, in Timbuktu, Mali. The city was recaptured on January 28, by French-led forces in their offensive against Islamist rebels who have been occupying Mali's north since last April.

French air strikes destroyed this vehicle outside the northern Malian city of Gao.

Men play boules, a game that was forbidden under Islamist rule. on January Wednesday, 30, in Gao, Mali. Gao, once a key Islamist stronghold, was retaken on January 26 by French and Malian troops.

A Malian soldier tries to disperse looters in Timbuktu, Mali, on Tuesday, January 29. Malian and French forces have been battling Islamist militants to loosen their grip on the country. France was the colonial power in Mali until 1960.

People cheer along a road in Ansongo, a town near the northern Malian city of Gao, as troops from neighboring Niger enter the city.

A man waves a French flag as residents celebrate the arrival of Niger troops on January 29 in Ansongo.

Niger troops enter Ansongo on January 29.

Malian soldiers enter the historic city of Timbuktu on Monday, January 28.

French soldiers flying back from Timbuktu arrive at the French army base camp in Sevare on January 28.

A man prays in the recently liberated town of Douentza on January 28.

Wounded Malian soldiers rest after receiving medical care at the Polyclinique of Kati on Sunday, January 27.

Malian soldiers wait at a checkpoint near Sevare on January 27.

A French soldier walks through the bush in central Mali on January 27.

Malian soldiers wait at a checkpoint near Sevare on January 27.

A Malian soldier stands amid debris Saturday, January 26, in the key central town of Konna, which has been under French and Malian army control since last week. It was taken on January 11 by Islamist groups.

Malian soldiers walk past the bullet-riddled wall of a house in Konna on Saturday, January 26.

A Malian soldier looks at the wreckage of an Islamist rebel's armed pickup truck in Konna.

Ammunition lies on the ground in Konna.

Malian soldiers escort journalists in Konna.

Malian soldiers patrol a street of Diabaly on January 26.

Ali Ag Noh, right, stands with his family in front of his house on Friday, Janurary 25, in the village of Seribala, Mali, after his cousin and brother-in-law, Aboubakrim Ag Mohamed, and a cattle rancher, Samba Dicko, were shot dead on January 24, allegedly by the Malian Army. According to Noh, Mohamed, a Tuareg, and Dicko were shot in the head in Seribala after being accused by two Malian soldiers of being Islamists or aiding Islamists.

Members of the French army arrive at a base camp in Sevare, Mali, on January 25. French and Malian troops advanced on the key Islamist stronghold of Gao after recapturing the northern town of Hombori as the extremists bombed a strategic bridge to thwart a new front planned in the east.

Malian soldiers ride a motorcycle in a street of Merkala, on Thursday, January 24, 2013 as the first of the 6,000 troops pledged by African nations to support France started heading north.

A Malian soldier armed with a machine gun watches a herd of cattle crossing a bridge over the Niger River on January 24. Mali's military offensive against militants controlling the northern half of the country has gathered pace in the past two weeks, with backing from France and other international allies.

A French army convoy travels near Segou, in south-central Mali, is on its way to Diabaly on January 24.

A woman who fled northern Mali sits at a camp for internally displaced persons in Sevare on Wednesday, January 23. The EU announced 20 million euros of extra humanitarian aid to help Malians fleeing fighting, its second such donation in as many months.

A soldier rides on the back of a scooter outside Diabaly on January 23.

Malians walk past a destroyed truck mounted with a machine gun on Tuesday, January 22. The truck was used by militants and destroyed during airstrikes by the French air force.

Malian soldiers patrol Diabaly on January 22.

Malian soldiers walk past destroyed army barracks as they patrol in Diabaly on January 22, 2013.

A French soldier mans his post on January 22 near the city of Diabaly, Mali.

A French soldier stands guard in front of charred pickups used by Islamist rebels in Diabaly, Mali, on Monday, January 21. The Malian military says it has gained control of the town of Diabaly, a key advance in the battle against Islamist militants in the north.

A Malian soldier walks past a army building that was taken by the jihadists before being destroyed during aerial bombing in Diabaly on January 21.

A Malian soldier searches through debris after aerial bombing in the city of Diabaly on January 21.

A French soldier looks around after arriving in Diabaly on January 21.

French soldiers unload military equipment from an aircraft on January 21.

Malian youths look on as French soldiers drive through Niono on Sunday, January 20.

The French Army conducts operations in Mali on January 20.

A Malian soldier holds a machine gun on top of a jeep on the road back from the town of Mopti, Mali, on Saturday, January 19.

French soldiers of the 5th Combat Helicopter Regiment stand with their equipment in front of a helicopter on January 19 at an airbase near Bamako, Mali. French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said on January 19 that France now had 2,000 troops on the ground in Mali as part of a drive against Islamist militants holding the north of the country.

French soldiers of the 5th Combat Helicopter Regiment relax on January 19 at the airbase near Bamako.

A French soldier from the helicopter regiment stands guard at the airbase on January 19.

Malian soldiers check the identity of passengers in a bus coming from Mopti on January 19.

French President Francois Hollande, left, speaks with soldiers who are due to leave for Mali, during a meeting in Tulle, France, on January 19.