Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi, Oct 14: A bus struck an explosive device in central Mali on Thursday, leaving at least 11 passengers dead and 53 more injured, according to hospital officials cited by AFP.
The explosion occurred on the road between Bandiagara and Goundaka in the Mopti area where Islamist violence is known to flourish on Thursday afternoon, a security source said.
A large number of people have been displaced from their homes and thousands of lives have been lost in the Mali jihadist conflict.
According to a report by MINUSMA, the UN mission in Mali, as of August 31 there had been 72 fatalities from mines and IEDs. More than a quarter of the victims were civilians, however military made up the majority, according to the report.
IEDs and mines resulted in 103 fatalities and 297 injuries last year.
