Sharjah 24 – AFP: Eight UN peacekeepers were wounded Thursday in a mine explosion in Mali's terrorist-wracked Timbuktu region, the United Nations said.

They were part of the Burkinabe contingent of the MINUSMA peacekeeping force, a UN official said on condition of anonymity.

Spokesman Olivier Salgado said on Twitter that the attack took place near Ber, in the Timbuktu region, and that the eight soldiers had been evacuated.

Four peacekeepers have been killed so far this month in suspected terrorist attacks in northern and central Mali.