A group that monitors online extremist activity says Al-Qaeda's North Africa branch has reported the death of a commander in Mali.

The SITE Intelligence Group on Sunday quoted a statement from Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb saying Abu Bakr al-Shinqiti was killed during a raid on a Malian army barracks near the border with Burkina Faso. SITE said he was Tunisian.

The statement did not specify the date or location of the raid, nor did it report any Malian casualties.

On July 10, an official in Mali's Koro region near the Burkina Faso border said unidentified gunmen had killed two Malian soldiers in a raid on a military checkpoint.

Northern Mali was occupied in 2012 by Al-Qaeda and other jihadist groups before a French-led military operation drove them from cities and towns.