Malians went to the polls in the country's runoff presidential election on Sunday with threats of terror attacks on their minds, just as they were two weeks ago during the first round of elections when terror attacks disrupted several polling stations across the country. Malians thought not only about how the threat of terrorism would affect the elections, but also about how the elections would shape the country's fight against militant groups with ties to al-Qaida and the Islamic State groups. Prior to the elections, Tiena Coulibaly, Mali's minister of defense, told VOA the government had taken all of the necessary measures to ensure security across the country during the election and that the government is serious about its campaign against militant groups. The Islamic State group "has begun to make inroads into Mali, using it as a launching pad for attacks in neighboring Niger and Burkina Faso," David Ibsen, executive director of the Counter Extremism Project, a global nonprofit research center that follows extremism around the globe, told VOA. Ibsen said the exact number of militants with allegiance to terror groups like al-Qaida and IS "is difficult to establish," but "their trail of death and destruction in Mali and the region is clear." He said international help is needed to counter the threat.