KIDAL, MALI — A mortar attack on a United Nations peacekeeping base in northern Mali on Saturday killed three people and injured 20, the U.N. said.

Two United Nation peacekeepers and a civilian contractor from Burkina Faso were killed in the pre-dawn attack on the camp in Kidal known as the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Mali (MINUSMA). Of the 20 wounded, four were seriously injured.

According to Reuters, desert-based jihadists regularly launch rockets and missiles at northern U.N. bases, especially around full moon when the lighter nights make it easier to target the bases, although it is rare for rockets to land inside the bases.

Attackers launched several mortars on the camp around 4 a.m. Four or five mortars landed inside the base.

Bursts of gunfire also rang out shortly after the mortars landed inside the camp, according to a witness in Kidal.

According to French news agency AFP, Malian Islamist group Ansar Dine had claimed responsibility for the attack.

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