Soldiers killed in twin attacks in central Mali

At least five soldiers have been killed and another five wounded in twin attacks blamed on militants in central Mali.

A military convoy was ambushed en route from the village of Goma-Coura to Diabaly town on Sunday, a local elected official told while requesting anonymity.

He said four pickup trucks and an armoured vehicle were missing after the attack.

Concurrent fire 

Simultaneously, a camp at Goma-Coura came under artillery fire, the army said in a statement posted on its Twitter account, which also reported the ambush.

Some vehicles were destroyed, it said, adding that casualties on the "enemy" side were not yet known.

An ambush on a military convoy blamed on militants, also in central Mali, left 24 soldiers dead on June 15.

Militants unleashed a revolt in northern Mali in 2012 that has since spread to the centre of the poor Sahel country and to Burkina Faso and Niger despite the presence of thousands of French and UN troops.

READ MORE: Militant ambush kills 24 soldiers in Mali, many missing