Eight Malian soldiers killed in ambush

ISLAMIST extremists are believed to be behind an ambush which killed eight Malian soldiers in the nation’s desert north.

The bodies of the soldiers were discovered on Monday. They went missing a week ago after their convoy was attacked on the road between the towns of Gao and Menaka.

“They were killed in the fighting last week. There are eight of them. I have two nephews who were killed,” said Badian Ag Hamatou, a member of parliament from Menaka. “They were encircled by the jihadists.”

A team sent to the scene had identified the bodies of the missing soldiers, who were subsequently buried where they were found.

Malian soldiers are regularly targeted in attacks by Islamist groups, some of them with links to al-Qaeda.