15 soldiers killed, several wounded in ambush in central Mali

DOUALA, Cameroon

Fifteen Malian soldiers were killed and 10 others wounded when a booby trapped vehicle exploded Thursday in Mali’s central Mopti region, the Defense Ministry said.

"The convoy of the Malian Armed Forces (FAMa) leaving Douentza for Boni was the target of a complex attack" as a "victim of an ambush after the explosion of an abandoned booby-trapped van" in Boni, the chief of the armed forces said in a statement.

The explosion was followed by intense gunfire on the military convoy, according to an earlier army report of 11 dead and 10 wounded.

It was 12.45 p.m. when the attack took place.

The Mopti region is one of the areas most affected by armed attacks in the West African country, which has been plagued by terrorism since 2012.

Local sources reported the abduction of Nouh Amadou Diallo, the second deputy mayor of Haire, in Boni by unidentified gunmen on Aug. 13.

Ambushes using improvised explosive devices (IEDs) are also recurrent in the country.

The most recent was on Aug. 15, when three soldiers died on the road leading to the airport of Menaka city in the Gao region.