Two soldiers killed, nine injured in Mali ambush: army

• Troops “reacted to a complex ambush”.
• Malian army says it has killed more than 40 jihadists.
• Attack in northern Mali claimed the lives of two soldiers and injured nine others.

 Mali :An attack claimed the lives of two soldiers and injured nine others, according to the Malian army.

Forces had “reacted to a complex ambush” on the road between Gossi town and the city of Gao on Thursday, the army said in a statement released in the night to Friday.

Seven “terrorists” were “neutralized”, it said, adding they were among more than 40 jihadists killed in different operations last month.

Read more: Red Cross says two employees killed in Mali attack

In one, it said a strike against a “terrorist base” west of Serma in central Mali had “neutralized 31 terrorists” on May 27, including several who were sought after by Malian security forces.

Mali has since 2012 been wracked by a jihadist insurgency by groups linked to Al-Qaeda and the so-called Islamic State group.

Vast swathes of the country are in thrall to myriad rebel groups and militias.

In its efforts to quell the violence that began in the north of the country and expanded to the center, then to neighboring Burkina Faso and Niger, the ruling junta has turned away from its traditional ally France and toward Russia.

Read more: UN peacekeeper killed in Mali ‘terrorist’ attack