At least one United Nations peacekeeper was killed and four others seriously injured when their patrol was attacked in northern Mali on Friday, the peacekeeping mission MINUSMA said.
Since 2012, Mali has been plagued by insurgent groups linked to ISIS and Al Qaeda. Vast parts of the country are controlled by myriad rebel groups, militias and criminal gangs.
Minusma was set up in 2013 to shore up the turbulent Sahel state, where fighting has claimed thousands of lives and uprooted hundreds of thousands.
At least 303 Minusma personnel have been killed in hostile acts in Mali, making it the deadliest UN peacekeeping mission in the world.
Minusma said on Twitter the patrol first encountered an improvised explosive device and was then hit with a direct fire attack.
It did not name perpetrators but said it was a “complex attack” and that updates on casualties would follow.
