At least 26 soldiers have been killed in a militant attack in central Mali
At least 26 soldiers were killed and 33 others wounded in a militant attack on an army base in central Mali on Friday, the Mali government said.
An official statement said seven soldiers were still missing after a car bomb exploded in a rural area of Mandoro.
The statement did not specify which militant group was responsible, but said in a statement that 70 militants had been killed.
Al-Qaeda and Islamic State's allies are active in central Mali.
The rise of hardline Islamist groups in Mali has been followed by al-Qaeda-linked militants occupying the northern desert of Mali in 2012. The next year the former colonial power forced France to intervene to resist them.
The militants have since regrouped and taken over large parts of Mali's countryside. They have also spread to Nizar, Burkina Faso and other neighboring countries.
France has deployed thousands of troops across the region since 2013, but announced last month that it would withdraw its troops from Mali due to strained relations with the ruling military junta.
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