The attack took place amid the ongoing African Union summit in Mauritania, attended by French President Emmanuel Macron and African leaders, with the anti-terror fight on the agenda of the talks.

Unknown attackers detonated a car bomb, targeting a joint French, Malian patrol in Mali's city of Gao, Reuters reported, citing local security sources. As the news agency specified, the attack led to deaths and injuries of several people.

"There are several wounded among the French soldiers who were in two vehicles, completely destroyed by the explosion and they were evacuated to their base," a Malian military source said, as quoted by Reuters.

The spokesperson for the Barkhane operation in Sahel region confirmed there was "an incident", without providing any further details.