Gunmen kill 16 soldiers at Mali army base

An attack by gunmen on a Malian army base has left 16 soldiers dead.

Gunmen have attacked and briefly seized a Malian army base overnight, killing at least 16 soldiers and destroying five vehicles in central Mali's Mopti region, two local councillors say.

The base is in the village of Dioura, the mayor of the nearest town Kareri, Youssouf Coulibaly, told Reuters from inside it.

Central Mali has in the past few years been overrun by jihadists with links to al- Qaeda.