15 soldiers killed in Islamist attack in Mali

In Mali, 15 soldiers and three civilians were killed in two coordinated attacks by Islamists in southwest part of the country on Wednesday.

According to a statement issued by the Army, three military bases were targeted in these coordinated attacks. The assault on a military camp in Sonkolo killed six soldiers and wounded 25 others, five of them seriously.

In an early morning attack on a camp in Kalumba, nine soldiers and three civilians died. Another military base in the central town of Mopti was also struck. There



were no reported casualties. Mali's armed forces claimed that 48 militants were also killed in Sonkolo.

Local media reports that this was the third attack in a week after al-Qaeda-linked militants set off two car bombs targeting Mali's main military base outside the capital, Bamako, on Friday, a day after a series of insurgent attacks. The unstable Sahel state has long been a target of militants linked to al-Qaeda and Islamic State who have repeatedly raided bases across the country.