BAMAKO - Forty-two Malian soldiers died in a sophisticated weekend attack by suspected jihadis using drones and artillery, authorities said Wednesday, the latest violent incident to rock the troubled Sahel country.
The toll is one of the bloodiest in Mali's decadelong insurgency, which has spread from the north of the country to the center and south and into neighboring Burkina Faso and Niger.
A document naming the dead was authenticated to AFP by several senior military officials, while the government later confirmed the toll in a statement that said 22 soldiers were injured and 37 "terrorists" were neutralized.
The attack occurred Sunday in the town of Tessit, in the troubled three-border region where the frontiers of the three nations converge. On Monday, the army had said 17 soldiers and four civilians died.
Relatives of the victims, speaking on condition of anonymity, said some of the civilians were elected officials.
