Several soldiers killed in central Mali attack

Malian army says nine soldiers killed near village of Bodio, Mopti region, but local officials put death toll higher.

At least nine soldiers have been killed and 11 more wounded in an attack in central Mali, the army said, but local officials said the death toll was even higher.

The attack on Wednesday occurred near the village of Bodio in the Mopti region, the epicentre of violence in Mali by fighters linked to al-Qaeda and ISIL (ISIS), according to Moulaye Guindo, the mayor of the nearby town of Bankass.

“The death toll is heavy: 16 soldiers killed, 30 jihadists killed and 17 others wounded,” he told the Reuters news agency.