Mali's government said on Wednesday that it had targeted an armed group affiliated with the Islamic State in the town of "Tisit", killing 37 of them, in response to the attack on its forces that killed 42 soldiers.
The government said - in a statement - that the Malian army units in Tessit responded forcefully to a complex and coordinated attack launched by what it described as "armed terrorist groups", which was characterized by the use of drones, explosives, car bombs and artillery.
The government added that soldiers killed 37 fighters during several hours of heavy fighting.
The army had previously reported that 17 soldiers were killed in the attack and 9 were missing.
The government said 42 Malian soldiers were killed and 22 wounded in an attack near the town of Tesset last Sunday, which it blamed on an Islamic State affiliate.
This attack was one of the deadliest in recent years against the Malian army, which has been facing a decade-old insurgency waged by armed groups spread across the Sahel region of West Africa.
Mali is ruled by a military junta that toppled the democratic government in 2020, partly out of frustration at its failure to rein in the violence, but attacks have remained common.
An al-Qaeda affiliate claimed responsibility for an attack on the country's main military base in late July.