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Gunmen stage deadly raid on Mali army post; U.N. peacekeepers hurt in blast
Chadian U.N. peacekeepers gesture as they patrol during a ceremony marking two years since Malian soldiers were killed in a massacre by radical Islamists, in Aguelhok, Mali January 24, 2014. PHOTO BY REUTERS/Stringer
16/02/2015
BAMAKO (Reuters) - Gunmen killed two Malian soldiers in an attack on an army post 460 km (300 miles) from the capital Bamako and four U.N. peacekeepers were wounded in an explosion deeper into the restive desert northeast over the weekend.
Local troops and U.N. peacekeepers are trying to impose order two years after French forces wrested control of the area from separatist rebels and militants linked to al Qaeda.
Gunmen who attacked an army base in the Mopti region at 6:15 a.m. (0600 GMT) on Saturday were repelled after a fire fight, army spokesman Colonel Souleymane Maigasaid.
"The attackers ... fled leaving five bodies behind while carrying others. The armysuffered two dead and three wounded," he said.
In a separate incident, at least four U.N. peacekeepers were wounded by a blast on Sunday near the town of Tabankort, some 1,000 km (600 miles) northeast of Bamako, Radhia Achouri, a spokeswoman for the U.N. mission, MINUSMA, said.
It was not immediately clear who was responsible for either incident.
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