BAMAKO, March 23 (Xinhua) -- The number of soliders killed in two terrorist attacks Monday on the Malian Armed Forces has risen to 16, the army has said.
In a press release issued Tuesday evening, the armed forces' information directorate said 17 soldiers were also wounded in the fighting.
It said 37 terrorists were killed and two others arrested, with some weapons and ammunition seized, when the army responded to an ambush in Boni, Douentza, in central Mali, and an attack on a military post in Tessit, a town in Ansongo district, Gao region.
On March 4, 27 soldiers and at least 70 terrorists were killed when another army post came under attack in Mondoro, Douentza.
Since 2012, Mali has been facing multifaceted security, political and economic challenges, with thousands of people killed and hundreds of thousands of others displaced by separatist insurrections, jihadist incursions and inter-communal violence, despite the presence of United Nations and European forces.
