Suspected Islamist militant fighters killed six soldiers and wounded several others in an overnight attack in central Mali, the army has said on Twitter.

The suspected Islamist fighters attacked the troops in Diongani, the insecure Mopti area near the border with Burkina Faso.

Mali has suffered violence since 2012, when Islamist militants took over the north.

Insecurity there continues and the violence has spread to other countries in the region.

Mali - along with Burkina Faso, Chad, Niger and Mauritania - is part of an anti-insurgency force supported by France known as the G5 Sahel.