Gunmen attack Mali army base, kill at least 16 soldiers

Musicians of the Malian army drive by the first French army A 400 M Atlas aircraft at the French military base in Gao, during its first operational mission on December 31 2013.
Image: AFP PHOTO / JOEL SAGET JOEL SAGET / AFP

Gunmen attacked and briefly seized a Malian army base overnight, killing at least 16 soldiers and destroying five vehicles in central Mali's Mopti region, two local councillors in the area where the attack happened said on Sunday.

The base is in the village of Dioura, the mayor of the nearest town Kareri, Youssouf Coulibaly, said from inside it. Central Mali has in the past few years been overrun by jihadists with links to al Qaeda.