UN peacekeepers injured in Mali landmine explosion

A number of UN peacekeepers were injured Friday when their vehicle hit a landmine in northern Mali, a UN spokesman said.

"The United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilisation Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) reported that around 12 noon, the mission's military vehicle hit a landmine in Aguelhok of Kidal region," Xinhua quoted UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric as saying at a daily briefing.

"A number of peacekeepers have been wounded and of which three are seriously injured," Dujarric said, without giving the exact number of the injured.

"An evacuation is being arranged," he said.

"Yesterday(Thursday), in a separate incident, four mortar shells and two rocket-propelled grenades exploded in and near the MINUSMA Aguelhok camp but it caused no damage or casualties," he added.

Mali had witnessed a fighting between government forces and rebels, and the seizure of its northern territory by the radical Islamists since early 2012.