Five Soldiers Killed In Mali Twin Attacks

At least five soldiers were killed and five were wounded on Sunday in twin attacks blamed on jihadists in central Mali, army and local sources said.

A military convoy was ambushed en route from the village of Goma-Coura to Diabaly town, a local elected official told AFP while requesting anonymity.

He said four pickup trucks and an armoured vehicle were missing after the attack.

Simultaneously, a camp at Goma-Coura came under artillery fire, the army said in a statement posted on its Twitter account, which also reported the ambush.

Some vehicles were destroyed, it said, adding that casualties on the “enemy” side were not yet known.

An ambush on a military convoy blamed on jihadists, also in central Mali, left 24 soldiers dead on June 15.

Jihadists unleashed a revolt in northern Mali in 2012 that has since spread to the centre of the poor Sahel country and to Burkina Faso and Niger despite the presence of thousands of French and UN troops.

AFP