WASHINGTON, July 22. /TASS/. The United States is considering striking the Jamaat Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin group, which says it is part of Al-Qaeda (a terrorist organization recognized and banned in Russia), in Mali, The Washington Post quoted sources as saying.

"If approved, it would add an eighth nation to the list of countries where President Donald Trump has ordered strikes since the start of his second term," it said.

However, senior US officials disagree over whether to proceed with attacking the militant group.

"A vocal advocate for using force is the National Security Council’s senior director for counterterrorism, Sebastian Gorka," the paper quoted current and former officials as saying.

Any direct US military involvement in Mali runs the risk of hostilities with Russian forces in the region. It also could require deconfliction efforts between Washington and Moscow akin to ones that existed in Syria during that country’s civil war, the story said.

It also quotes an unnamed Washington administration official who claims that cooperation between several African countries and Russia has not been effective.