Eight killed in attacks on central Malian security bases

BAMAKO (Reuters) - Unidentified attackers killed eight people in twin attacks on a Malian military post and a gendarme base of the central town of Bandiagra late on Thursday, the army said.

The assailants attacked the base at 2120 local time, setting buildings alight and stealing weapons and four vehicles, a local official said on Friday, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Islamist groups linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State regularly attack Malian security forces and U.N. peacekeepers in the area, which the militants use as a base for attacks across the Sahel region south of the Sahara Desert.

Five were wounded in addition to those killed, the army said in a statement, without giving further details on the attack.

(Reporting by Tiemoko Diallo; Writing by Alessandra Prentice, Editing by William Maclean)