The soldiers were part of the Egyptian contingent of the UN peacekeeping mission, a security official said.

"The head of MINUSMA condemned the attack," spokesman Olivier Salgado posted.

He said the incident took place near the town of Douentza, on the road to Timbuktu.

On Wednesday, a Jordanian blue helmet died in an attack on his convoy in Kidal, in northern Mali.

With 13,000 members, the mission is one of the UN's biggest peacekeeping operations, and also one of its most dangerous.

It says 174 troops have died from hostile acts.