DHAKA: The UN secretary-general says two United Nations peacekeepers have been killed and seven wounded in a suicide attack in Mali.

Ban Ki-moon said he was saddened by the deaths and condemned the attack against UN personnel in a statement issued Saturday.

The UN mission in Mali had earlier reported one peacekeeper dead and five injured, thehimalayantimes.com publishes this report on Sunday.

The mission said the suicide attack took place in Ber in the region of Timbuktu. It marks the third time this week that UN peacekeepers have been targeted in northern Mali.

David Gressly, the UN secretary-general’s deputy special representative in Mali, condemned the attack, saying the violence only reinforces the peacekeeping mission’s determination.

Three other peacekeepers have been wounded over the past week by mine explosions in northern Mali.

France led a campaign to oust al-Qaida militants and other jihadists from power in January 2013, although remnants of the groups continue to sow violence across the north.

BDST: 1225 HRS, AUG 17, 2014