7 Malian Soldiers Killed in Separate Attacks

In the latest violence in the conflict-torn Sahel state, seven Malian soldiers were slain in separate attacks on Saturday, according to the army.

Five soldiers were murdered on patrol near the central Malian town of Segou, about 200 kilometres (124 miles) northeast of the capital Bamako, when their pick-up truck collided with a roadside bomb, according to the military.

The statement continued, "A sweep of the area where the event happened resulted in the arrest of two inpiduals who were promptly handed over to the gendarmerie."

According to the army, two troops were killed and three others were wounded in a separate incident near Mourdiah, approximately 200 kilometres (124 miles) north of Bamako, on Saturday.

The death toll was described as "provisional."

Mali has been battling an Islamist insurgency that began in the north in 2012 and has claimed the lives of thousands of troops and civilians.

The crisis has enveloped central Mali and extended to neighbouring Burkina Faso and Niger, despite the deployment of hundreds of French and UN troops.

Ethnic massacres and attacks on government forces have become common in central Mali, which has become one of the epicentres of the Sahel-wide conflict.