In Mali, eight soldiers were killed near the Burkina Faso border. The commander of France's counter-terrorism force for the region said four other soldiers were injured. <br/><br/>The killing were take place between the localities of Nampala and Diabali, the area regularly targeted by Islamist groups, the troops' vehicle hit a mine and they were then ambushed by the group. <br/><br/>Northern Mali fell to Islamist groups linked to Al-Qaeda in March 2012, and although these forces were driven out of key towns by a French-led military intervention the following year, the Islamists have now spread further south.