DAKAR, Senegal (AP) Officials say four people have been killed in northern Mali after their truck ran over a landmine the latest sign of insecurity in the nation following a French-led intervention against Islamic radicals.
The blast hit the travelers Monday on the road leading to the locality of Menaka. The identities of the dead were not immediately clear.
A municipal official and a Malian military officer confirmed the deaths on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to press.
Around 2,000 French soldiers are still deployed in this African country in a bid to stabilize it following January's intervention against al-Qaida and other extremists.
The mine blast comes three days after two French journalists were kidnapped and killed in the northern Malian town of Kidal.