6 killed as blast rips Malian city

 

Six civilians were killed after an improvised explosive device (IED) went off near Boura, Mali’s southern region of Sikasso, a local security source confirmed to Xinhua on Saturday.

According to the officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity, an ambulance carrying a patient from Boura hit an IED on Friday, killing six people on board, except the driver who “was severely injured and evacuated to Koutiala (south)”.

According to him, a pregnant woman and a two-year-old child were among the victims.

This is the first attack on civilians since the mutiny that led to the resignation of Mali’s president Ibrahim Boubacar Keita.

The officer added that also on Friday afternoon, local authorities found the bodies of the two local staff of Environment Ministry who were kidnapped by unknown armed men on Thursday night.

The Malian army has been targeted four times, killing at least 21 soldiers with numerous injuries.

No individual or group has claimed responsibility for these attacks amid political instability in the West African country.