- They were shelled with fine-caliber weapons where the intent was to kill, says Therese Fagerstedt, press secretary at the Armed Forces, to TT.
The Swedish soldiers who were shot belong to the Armed Forces' elite force: Sweden's foremost military.
They are part of the French-led Task Force Takuba, which fights jihadists loyal to IS or al-Qaeda.
According to the Armed Forces, there is no information on which group the attackers belonged to.
How many Swedes were shot will also not be communicated, the force is surrounded by extremely high secrecy.
- What I can say is that it was a Swedish patrol on reconnaissance mission.
Sweden currently has, according to the Armed Forces, about 400 military personnel on site in Mali, of which 150 are part of Task Force Takuba.
The last time Swedish soldiers were attacked in Mali was in connection with a roadside bomb detonating in April.
Then three were slightly injured.
- This happens at regular intervals.
Mali is a dangerous place.
And it is a dangerous assignment that we have trained for, says Therese Fagerstedt.
Sweden's efforts in Mali have recently been questioned.
- This is our largest military commitment abroad.
We lack a good debate about what we do, what we try to achieve, what we can do better and maybe not do at all, said Sweden's former ambassador to Mali, Diana Janse, to DN on Sunday.