2 Sri Lankan peacekeepers killed, 3 injured in Mali

Two Sri Lankan army personnel who were deployed for peacekeeping in Mali were killed on Friday morning when their armoured vehicle came under attack, a statement from the Sri Lankan army said.

The army said the armoured vehicle which carried Sri Lankan Peacekeeping troops on patrol in the trouble-torn area of Mali came under a remote-controlled Improvised Explosive Device (IED) attack.

The statement said the attack killed one Sri Lankan Army Captain and another Sri Lankan army trooper. Besides, three more Sri Lankan military personnel were injured in the incident. They were rushed to a hospital in Mali.

Army spokesman Sumith Atapattu told Xinhua that Sri Lanka had deployed a contingent of 200 army personnel for peacekeeping duties in the western African nation of Mali.

"For the first time, two of our personnel were killed. Our contingent has been working in Mali for peacekeeping work for more than one and half years," he said.

He said the bodies of slain soldiers would be flown back to Sri Lanka soon.