For more than a decade Mali has faced attacks from groups linked to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group as well as separatist movements and criminal gangs.

Jihadists have claimed two major attacks against the Malian army in just the last month.

Mali's army said in a statement that seven of its positions in the west had been targeted in "coordinated attacks carried out very early this morning".

Residents and a local politician confirmed the attacks in at least four towns.

"We woke up in shock this morning. There's gunfire, and from my house I can see smoke billowing towards the governor's residence," one Kayes resident told AFP.

The person described the gunfire as "intense" while another reported sheltering at home while the assault raged on.

A military source confirmed that an explosion was first heard coming from the governor's residence but said that "by the time we got organised, there was already gunfire at the camp".

Elsewhere, a local political official, Sekou Niame Bathily, wrote on Facebook that "the region of Nioro woke up in shock" and that the towns of Nioro, Sandare and Gogui had sustained attacks.

All seven of the towns named by the military are in western Mali, with one, Diboli, directly on the border with Senegal.

The military said in a statement that the situation was being followed "very closely" and that it would provide more details later.

On June 2, a coordinated assault targeted an army camp in Timbuktu in the country's north, as well as its airport.

That attack came a day after a bloody raid killed at least 30 soldiers in the centre of the country.

Jihadists have also intensified their offensives in the larger Sahel region in recent weeks, carrying out raids not just in Mali, but also in Burkina Faso and Niger.

The three Sahel states' military juntas pledged during the coups that brought them to power to make security a priority.

But they are struggling to contain the advance of jihadists, who are threatening more than ever neighbouring countries on the west African coast.

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