ISIS has claimed responsibility for an attack on the Malian army in the northeast of the country near the border with Niger, killing 53 soldiers, according to an army toll.
"Caliphate soldiers attacked a military base where Malian soldiers are stationed," the group said in a statement posted on its Telegram application on Friday, citing "clashes with various types of weapons."
The group also claimed to have detonated an improvised explosive device that killed a French soldier 20 kilometers from Indeleman.
According to the French presidency, French soldier Ronan Pointo was killed near Menaka after "an improvised explosive device exploded as his armored vehicle passed."
In turn, Malian government spokesman and Information Minister Yaya Sangari found the bodies of 53 soldiers and one civilian at the military site.
Sangari said the attack also wounded 10 people and a large quantity of munitions were damaged. The government called on citizens to work for unity and cooperation against the backdrop of the attack.
The attack comes about a month after 40 soldiers were killed in two attacks on September 30 and early October near the border with the southern Malian state of Burkina Faso, where al Qaeda claimed responsibility for the terrorist attacks.
Since 2002, northern and central parts of Mali have been experiencing separatist conflicts and terrorist attacks.
Al-Qaeda-linked fighters took control of northern Mali in the spring of 2012, but a military intervention initiated by France in January 2013 - still ongoing - has led to the restoration of a large number of fighters' control areas.
Groups linked to the Islamic State and al-Qaida have been able to launch attacks across the Sahel from their stronghold in Mali, destabilizing parts of Niger and Burkina Faso.