Chadian U.N. peacekeepers gesture as they patrol during a ceremony marking two years since Malian soldiers were killed in a massacre by radical Islamists, in Aguelhok, Mali January 24, 2014. Picture taken January 24, 2014. REUTERS/Stringer (MALI - Tags: CIVIL UNREST ANNIVERSARY MILITARY) - RTX17UDJ

The United Nations mission in Mali says four of its peacekeepers have been killed by suspected jihadists in the north of the country.

It said several others were wounded when the insurgents attacked the camp run by Chadian peacekeepers in Aguelhok.

The peacekeepers “bravely pushed back” against a “complex attack carried out by several heavily-armed terrorists”, the UN said, many of whom were killed.

In a separate attack also on Friday, two Malian soldiers were killed by suspected Islamist militants and six others injured in the central town of Diafarabé.

An eyewitness told local media he saw armed men approach the military base on motorbikes then heard gunfire.

Violent Islamist groups are active in Mali and across the Sahel.

Source: BBC