BAMAKO, Mali - Mali’s army says seven soldiers are dead after their vehicles struck an explosive device and were ambushed.

Army spokesman Col. Diarran Kone said the army on Thursday was escorting two vehicles full of fertilizer between the communities of Douentza and Sevare in central Mali when the first vehicle struck the explosives.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack but it resembles others carried out by al-Qaida-linked groups in central Mali.

Targeted attacks on Malian soldiers and civilians have increased over the past year.

Insecurity in central Mali has also grown to include intercommunal conflict, which has worsened with fears over the growing number of extremist assaults.