Three Malian soldiers were killed and around 20 were captured by Tuareg rebels who attacked a military supply convoy near the northeastern border with Algeria, Malian military authorities said on Friday. First reports of the ambush, which occurred early on Thursday 18 km (11 miles) from the border garrison town of Tin-Zaouatene, had said four soldiers were wounded.The attack triggered a series of gunbattles between troops and rebels which went on for most of Thursday, a defence ministry official, who asked not to be named, told Reuters. He said the army suffered three dead and several wounded in the attack. There were no details of rebel casualties. Another military officer later told Reuters that some 20 government soldiers were captured by the rebels, who pulled back under cover of nightfall towards the Algerian border. "We're in control of the situation now," the ministry spokesman said, but gave no more details.
The fighting took place in the northern sector of Mali's Kidal region where al Qaeda kidnappers are reported to be holding two Austrian tourists seized last month in Tunisia. There was no suggestion of any link between Thursday's attack and the kidnapping of the Austrians.