Forces had "reacted to a complex ambush" on the road between Gossi town and the city of Gao on Thursday, the army said in a statement released in the night to Friday.

Seven "terrorists" were "neutralised", it said, adding they were among more than 40 jihadists killed in different operations last month.

In one, it said a strike against a "terrorist base" west of Serma in central Mali had "neutralised 31 terrorists" on May 27, including several who were sought after by Malian security forces.

Mali has since 2012 been wracked by a jihadist insurgency by groups linked to Al-Qaeda and the so-called Islamic State group.

Vast swathes of the country are in thrall to myriad rebel groups and militias.

The ruling junta has turned away from its traditional ally France and towards Russia in its efforts to stem the violence that began in the north of the country and spread to the centre, and then to neighbouring Burkina Faso and Niger.