Mali: Seven soldiers killed, three injured in two terrorist attacks

Two terrorist strikes in western and central Mali resulted in the deaths of seven Malian troops and the injuries of three others, according to the Malian Armed Forces (FAMa). According to preliminary reports, an army escort was ambushed in the village of Mourdiah in western Mali around midday on Saturday, resulting in two deaths and two injuries. However, in Segou, a FAMa patrol's pick-up vehicle was also attacked in the region of Niendjela in central Mali on Saturday afternoon, killing five soldiers.

The FAMa expressed dissatisfaction with the situation, stating that the vehicle's five occupants died one by one. It also said that the gendarmerie was able to apprehend two suspects in the immediate aftermath of the incident. FAMa servicemen were killed in two separate attacks earlier this month.

Terrorist attacks in Mali

In an attack on an army position in Acharane in the Timbuktu region of northern Mali on October 17, a Malian soldier and four terrorists were killed. On October 6, an attack on a Malian army convoy on the Koro-Bandiagara axis in the country's centre killed 16 people and injured nine in the FAMa ranks, who retaliated by killing 15 terrorists and seizing 20 motorcycles.

More than a month ago, on September 12, an armed militant group attacked a military patrol in central Mali, killing roughly five troops and three terrorists, according to a statement released by the FAMa, as reported by Xinhua news. According to the statement, the terrorist organisation planned the attack for September 12 at 11:45 am, and the Army's Operation Maliko patrol unit. In addition, five army vehicles were set ablaze by the attackers, according to Al Jazeera. Before that, an ambush on Mali's National Road, No. 6 in central Mali killed up to 15 Malian troops on August 19.

Mali has been in the midst of major security problems since 2012

Mali has been amid major security, political and economic problems since 2012. Despite the presence of UN, French and European soldiers, independence insurgencies, jihadist invasions, and inter-communal violence have killed thousands of people and displaced hundreds of thousands. Ethnic massacres and attacks on government forces have become common in central Mali.

(Inputs from ANI)

Image: AP