Suicide bomber attacks French troops in central Mali

A suicide bomber in a car attacked a French reconnaissance mission in central Mali on Monday, wounding six of the soldiers and four residents, the French army said.

No group  has claimed responsibility for the attack, but Islamist militant groups linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State operate in the area.

“The detonation was so loud it blew out the windows of some houses,” said Moussa Ag Almouner, the mayor of the town of Gossi, near where the attack took place.

“We still hear shots, planes flying over the place.”

The attack comes as France winds down its 5,100-strong Barkhane military mission that has operated in West Africa’s Sahel for years, but struggled to uproot violent jihadist groups.

About 55 French soldiers have died in the region since Paris intervened in 2013 to drive back al Qaeda-linked militants that had seized cities and towns in northern Mali a year earlier.

The French army said on Monday that the car laden with explosives detonated near a French military armoured vehicle.

The wounded soldiers and residents were flown to hospital for treatment while air support was sent to help the ground forces in the area.

Olajumoke Adeleke/Reuters