Seven Malian soldiers killed

BAMAKO: Gunmen killed at least seven Malian soldiers near the Mauritanian border, a local mayor said in Monday, in a dawn raid that illustrated continuing volatility two years after France helped take back territory seized by Al Qaeda-linked militants.
A spokesman for the Malian army confirmed the attack in the town of Nampala, about 520 km (320 miles) northeast of the capital Bamako, but declined to give details about casualties.