Attack in Mali kills 11 soldiers, wounds 10, military says

DAKAR, Aug 19 (Reuters) – Eleven soldiers were killed and 10 were wounded in an ambush on a military convoy in central Mali on Thursday, the armed forces said.

A car bomb exploded when the convoy passed, followed by heavy gunfire, the military said on Twitter.

Nine of the 10 wounded were injured seriously and efforts were under way to evacuate them, the statement said.

It was not yet clear who carried out the attack. It occurred in a region where Malian, French and European forces and U.N. peacekeepers have been battling insurgents linked to Islamic State and al Qaeda.

The borderlands between Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso have become ungovernable in some areas as Islamists spread. Attacks in recent years have killed thousands of civilians and forced millions to flee.

Earlier in August, over 50 people were killed when Islamist militants raided three villages in central Mali.

Story By Reuters.