Mali's armed forces say eleven soldiers were killed and 10 others were wounded in an ambush on a military convoy in central Mali on Thursday.
The military says a car bomb exploded when the convoy passed, followed by heavy gunfire.
The statement says nine of the 10 wounded were injured seriously and efforts were under way to evacuate them.
No group has so far claimed responsibility for the attack.
It occurred in a region where Malian, French and European forces and U.N. peacekeepers have been battling insurgents linked to Islamic State and al Qaeda.
The borderlands between Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso have become ungovernable in some areas as Islamists spread. Attacks in recent years have killed thousands of civilians and forced millions to flee.
