French soldiers dead in Mali

TWO French soldiers were killed in Mali when an improvised explosive device hit their armoured vehicle, five days after three others died in similar circumstances, the French presidency confirmed. The soldiers were participating in an intelligence mission in the Menaka region of north-eastern Mali, as part of a larger operation aimed at fighting Islamist extremists in Africa’s Sahel region. A third soldier was injured and is in a stable condition, the French military said.