The ministry conveyed its heartfelt condolences to the victims' families and expressed sincere wishes for a swift recovery for all those injured.

Cairo reiterated its "denunciation of these heinous acts of terrorism and called upon the international community to unite in eradicating terrorism at its roots."

On Friday, the Malian armed forces published a statement on Facebook reporting a “complex Kamikaze attack” on the airport area of a Gao military base with no further details about the casualties.

A day earlier, two separate attacks targeted a ferry on the Niger River near Timbuktu as well as an army position at Bamba, also in the Gao area.

The assaults left 49 civilians and 15 soldiers dead, according to a statement by the Malian interim government.

According to the government, the attacks were carried out by suspected Al-Qaeda-linked militants.

Landlocked, impoverished Mali has been struggling with insecurity since 2012 when a revolt led by ethnic Tuaregs erupted in the north of the country.

The insurgency was fanned by jihadists, who three years later took their own campaign into central Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso, sending shockwaves across the Sahel.

The northern rebellion was formally ended by a peace agreement signed between the region's rebels and the Malian government in 2015.

However, the fragile deal came under strain after the civilian government was toppled in 2020 and replaced by a junta.