DAKAR (Reuters) - Four U.N. peacekeepers killed by a roadside bomb in central Mali on Wednesday were from Bangladesh, as were four peacekeepers seriously wounded in the blast, the United Nations said.

The incident occurred in the central Mopti region, where attacks by Islamist militants have surged in recent months, although U.N. officials did not say who was responsible for the blast.

Six Malian soldiers were killed nearby a day earlier when their vehicle struck a landmine.

“The Secretary-General conveys his condolences to the Governments of Bangladesh and Mali and his profound sympathies to the families and loved ones of the victims,” a spokesman for U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a statement.

Bangladesh is the world’s second-biggest contributor to U.N. peacekeeping operations with some 7,000 uniformed personnel deployed to missions around the world.