According to security and health officials in the war-torn Sahel state, sixteen troops were killed, and ten were wounded in an attack in central Mali on Wednesday.

According to a statement, Mali's army claimed the forces were the target of a "complex IED attack" — an improvised explosive device — and subsequently came under heavy gunfire soon before 11:30 a.m.

The army blamed the attack on suspected jihadists, claiming that 15 terrorists were slain and 20 motorcycles were captured after a chase.

The army's provisional toll on its side was nine troops dead and 11 wounded, according to the military. Three of its cars were also destroyed, according to the report.

A health official in central Mali, on the other hand, stated the death toll had increased to 16, with the bodies being held in the local morgue.

The more significant toll was also confirmed by a security source who sought anonymity.

Mali has been fighting an Islamist insurgency that began in the north in 2012 and has killed thousands of soldiers and civilians.

The crisis has enveloped central Mali and extended to neighboring Burkina Faso and Niger, despite hundreds of French and UN troops.

Ethnic massacres and attacks on government forces have become common in central Mali, which has become one of the most violent areas of the Sahel-wide conflict.

Roadside bombs, often known as IEDs, are a prevalent technique used by jihadist groups in the region.

On September 20, four Malian soldiers were killed in the region by an IED blast. On September 12, five troops were murdered in a jihadist ambush in central Mali.

The al-Qaeda-affiliated Group to Support Islam and Muslims claimed responsibility for both attacks (GSIM).

GSIM also claimed responsibility for a September 28 attack on a mining truck in western Mali, killing five gendarmes.