As many as 16 soldiers have been killed and 10 others injured in an attack in central Mali involving an improvised explosive device (IED), health and security sources said on Wednesday. The attack, near the village of Bodio in the Mopti region, comes as the Sahel country continues efforts to suppress a nine-year Islamist insurgency. The rebellion has cost the lives of thousands of soldiers and civilians since it broke out in the country’s north in 2012. Mali’s army had earlier said five soldiers had been killed and eight wounded, but local officials raised it, saying dozens of jihadis had also been killed. …
