In a statement issued, the army in Mali stated that near the town of Tessett on Sunday, gunmen killed 17 of its soldiers and four civilians in an attack suspected of being carried

out by an ISIL terrorist group. He added that nine more soldiers had gone missing and vehicles and equipment had been destroyed, and the army said it had killed at least seven in the enemy's ranks.

The statement read: "On 7 August 2022 at approximately 3 a.m., army units in Tessett responded strongly to a complex attack by armed terrorist groups in coordination with each other, believed to be the ISIS group in the Sahara desert, which benefits from drone and artillery support.

Mali faces the worst insurgency by armed extremist groups, some linked to al-Qa 'idah, which has spread to neighbouring States of Burkina Faso and the Niger.