Mine blast kills 3 Malian soldiers hunting for extremists

Three soldiers were killed in central Mali on Thursday by a mine blast as they hunted for suspected extremists, the army announced in a statement.

"In their pursuit of the terrorists, the FAMa (Malian armed forces) were victims of a mine explosion," the army said. "The incident took place... in the Bulkessy (Mopti) sector on the border with Burkina Faso."

"The casualty toll is three dead and three wounded," added the statement, without giving any further details.

On December 21, the army in the large northwest African nation, mostly desert, announced the killing of five armed extremists and the death of a soldier when troops fought off an attack near Niono in the center.

In March and April 2012, extremist groups linked to al-Qaeda seized control of the arid north of Mali, including celebrated ancient cities such as Gao and Timbuktu, centers of trans-Saharan trade and learning.

The extremists were largely driven out in a French-led military operation launched in January 2013, but large tracts of the country are still not controlled by Malian or French forces, nor a UN peacekeeping mission.

SS