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A French soldier in front of a transport helicopter during a mission in Mali
Photo: Uncredited / dpa
In an attack on a military convoy in central Mali on Thursday (local time) 15 soldiers were killed and several were wounded.
The military announced on Twitter that a car bomb exploded as the convoy drove by.
After the explosion, the soldiers were also shot at.
It is still unclear who carried out the attack.
In the region, Malian, French and other European armed forces, as well as UN peacekeepers, have long been fighting against insurgents associated with the "Islamic State" and Al-Qaeda.
Their attacks have killed thousands of civilians and forced millions to flee in recent years.
Only in June were twelve Bundeswehr soldiers injured in a suicide attack in Mali, West Africa.
The suicide bomber had attacked a patrol of German UN soldiers around 180 kilometers northeast of Gao with a car bomb.
In addition to the Germans, a Belgian was also injured.
Almost 900 German soldiers are part of the UN troop Minusma in Mali.
The situation in Mali had become more tense in the past few months.
There were two military coups within a year, particularly in the border area with Niger and Burkina Faso, there are repeated attacks.
As recently as Wednesday, 80 people were killed in an attack by alleged jihadists.
Since 2015, more than 1,500 people have been killed and 1.3 million people displaced as a result of the violence in the three-country corner.
mrc / dpa / AFP / Reuters