At least eight Chadian peacekeepers were killed Sunday in a "terrorist attack" on a UN military base in northeastern Mali, a source close to the United Nations force in Mali said.
"According to a new provisional toll, eight (Chadian) peacekeepers were killed in Iglook, where the attack took place early in the morning," the source said in Kidal, about 200 km south of al-Qaeda.
A financial security source said at least six people were killed and at least 19 wounded, while a diplomat in northern Mali told Agence France-Presse that many of the attackers were also killed.
The head of the UN peacekeeping mission in Mali, Mohamed Saleh al-Nazif, said the attack required "a strong, swift and concrete response."
An attack on the base last April killed two peacekeepers and wounded many.
More than 13,000 peacekeepers are deployed in Mali as part of a UN mission created after armed groups seized northern Mali in 2012 but were expelled with the support of French troops in 2013.