Peacekeeper killed, others wounded in blast - UN

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October 3, 2016 9:13 PM

The attack happened in a camp in northeastern Mali near the Algerian border, claiming one UN soldier

An armoured personnel carrier of The United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) is parked in Timbuktu on September 19, 2016

One UN peacekeeper was killed and several others injured, five of them seriously, on Monday following an attack on their camp in northeastern Mali near the Algerian border, the UN mission said.

Following a spate of mortar rounds fired at the Aguelhok camp, two military vehicles were dispatched and hit an explosive device "that led to the death of a blue helmet," the UN mission in Mali, MINUSMA, said.

MINUSMA said a number of other soldiers were wounded in the blast, including five who were seriously hurt.

Northern Mali fell into the hands of jihadists linked to Al-Qaeda in early 2012.

Ongoing international military intervention since January 2013 has driven Islamist fighters away from the major urban centres they had briefly controlled, but large tracts of Mali are still not controlled by domestic or foreign troops.

Analysts say tribal rivalries have led to a deterioration of the security situation in the north.

A UN soldier was killed and four others were injured on August 7 when their vehicle struck an explosive device in Mali's northeastern Kidal region. The dead soldier and the injured were from Chad.

The UN deployed peacekeepers in July 2013, but the mission has been a relentless target for attacks.

Nearly 30 have been killed so far this year, according to a toll compiled by AFP.

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