5 Malian soldiers killed in landmine explosion

BAMAKO, Mali (AA) - Five Malian soldiers were killed and two others injured in a landmine explosion in Central Mali, military sources said.

The explosion occurred when a military patrol drove on landmine in Mali`s Segou region, Abdoulaye Dicko, a Malian army official told Anadolu Agency late Wednesday.

The military patrol was responsible for securing a road, added a source from the Malian Ministry of Defense who requested anonymity.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack but the area has been frequented by Mecina Liberation Front militants, a group close to Ansar Dine that is also linked to al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).

The group is among a number of militant organizations active in northern and central Mali, where UN, French and Malian troops are conducting counterterrorism operations.

Separately, Germany said it would extend the mandate of its troops in northern Mali to January 2018 to support the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA).