Land mine kills UN peacekeeper in northern Mali; 6 others injured

DOUALA, Cameroon – The U.N. says one peacekeeper died and six were injured after their vehicle struck a land mine in northern Mali.

The incident occurred Monday 30 kilometers west of Timbuktu, which like the rest of northern Mali fell to rebels including Islamic extremists in 2012.

A French-led intervention last year scattered the extremists, though Mali's government has warned about their return. Tuareg separatists have also increasingly pushed back against the authority of the Bamako-based government.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemned the explosion. He said the peacekeepers were from Burkina Faso. Three were seriously hurt.

A suicide attack last month at a U.N. camp in the Kidal region killed four Chadian peacekeepers.

The U.N. peacekeeping mission of 11,200 military personnel and 1,440 police is not yet at full strength.