Six soldiers in Mali have been killed and 10 others were injured during a suspected Islamist militant attack in the centre of the country.

The raid happened on Sunday in the town of Mondoro.

The army said it responded with airstrikes that caused a significant number of casualties for the Islamist insurgents and destroyed many of their vehicles.

In September, jihadists linked to al-Qaeda killed at least 40 soldiers when they attacked a military camp in the same town as well as another in Boulkessi.

Mali's President Ibrahim Boubakar Keita recently said he wanted to negotiate with the jihadists in order to end the rising violence.