Suspected militants kill 12 Mali soldiers

BAMAKO: Suspected militants killed at least 12 soldiers in an attack Sunday in central Mali, a security source told AFP, updating an earlier toll.

"The new toll is at least 12 dead, including the post commander, a captain," the source said. An earlier report gave the death toll as at least 10. The military outpost at Guire was attacked at around five in the morning, the source said earlier.

"The terrorists came out of the forest. They were on motorcycles and pick-up trucks. They burnt vehicles and took away others," said the source, who asked not to be named. The Mali armed forces confirmed the attack on Twitter, without saying how many soldiers had been killed. They said reinforcements were being sent to the Nara sector, about 370 kilometres (230 miles) north of the capital Bamako. A local resident contacted by AFP said there had been heavy gunfire and the military "were taken by surprise" in the attack. "I saw two terrorists put their motorcycles in an army vehicle and drive off with it," he said. Malian and foreign troops are regularly targeted by jihadist militia.