Three French soldiers deployed in a counter-terrorism force in Mali’s restive northeast were injured, one seriously, in a suicide bomb attack, France’s army said Friday. “A vehicle approached the convoy and exploded near a VAB (armoured vehicle),” French army spokesman Patrick Steiger told AFP. The seriously injured soldier was evacuated to France, while the two others were treated at the scene, he said. Three Malian soldiers were also injured on Thursday after being ambushed in the northern town of Hombori in an attack using “improvised explosive devices”, Mali’s army said in a statement. According to an AFP count, 18 French soldiers have been killed in Mali since the launch of Operation Serval, which has since been replaced by Operation Barkhane, a broader offensive deployed in five countries — Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Chad and Burkina Faso.

Source: The Guardian January 12, 2018 18:00 UTC