21 people have been reportedly killed in a terror attack in Mali, the West African country’s army said Monday evening.
According to information gathered, four civilians and 17 Malian troops were killed during the attack.
A further 22 people were injured in the attack on Sunday afternoon near the city of Tessit, which sits close to the border with Niger and Burkina Faso.
The Malian army also killed at least seven terrorists, and the attackers took away more of their own wounded and dead.
Bamako blamed the attack on the terrorist organization Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS), saying that the attack was well-coordinated and equipped, and included the use of drones.
The ISGS is a major offshoot of the Islamic State.
It is mainly blamed for attacks in the states of Niger, Burkina Faso, and Mali.
Other armed groups are also active in the Sahel – an area that stretches south of the Sahara from the Atlantic to the Red Sea.
Mali, with a population of around 20 million, has experienced three military coups since 2012 and is considered extremely unstable.
Since the most recent coup in May 2021, the country has been led by an interim military government.
Western powers have been reassessing their commitments to the country amid hostility from the military rulers.