Gunmen kill nine soldiers in Mali attack, army says

Armed assailants killed nine soldiers and wounded six others in an ambush in central Mali on Wednesday, an army spokesman said. It was not clear which group carried out Wednesday's attack. About 20 assailants were also killed in the gunfight, Dembele said.

Armed assailants killed nine soldiers and wounded six others in an ambush in central Mali on Wednesday, an army spokesman said. The attack occurred at around 0615 GMT near the village of Boni in the Mopti region, a hot spot of recent violence, Colonel Soulemane Dembele told Reuters.

Central and northern Mali is overrun by jihadist groups linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State that regularly attack the army, civilians and United Nations peacekeepers. They use the area as a base from which to carry out attacks across the Sahel region south of the Sahara Desert. It was not clear which group carried out Wednesday's attack.

About 20 assailants were also killed in the gunfight, Dembele said. (Reporting By Tiemoko Diallo Writing by Edward McAllister; Editing by Steve Orlofsky)