3 UN peacekeepers, Malian soldier killed in jihadist attack
Suspected jihadists attacked a UN peacekeeping position in northern Mali on Friday killing two peacekeepers from Niger and a Malian soldier and injuring 14 peacekeepers and a UN civilian contractor, authorities said.
The UN mission reported that at least three assailants were killed by return fire from the peacekeepers.
The mission in Mali and UN officials in New York said the assailants attacked the peacekeepers' position in Indelimane, about 70 kilometers (43 miles) west of Menaka near the border with Niger, early Friday morning.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility, though the Islamic State in the Sahel group is active in the region. The extremist group is believed to be behind an ambush of US forces and their local counterparts in Niger that left four Americans dead last month.
Following the attack, the UN said the Mali mission deployed three helicopters to evacuate the injured peacekeepers, 13 from Niger and one from Cambodia as well as the civilian. The UN mission's aircraft with medical teams also deployed from Kidal and Bamako to evacuate some of the wounded, the UN said.
