63 Malian Soldiers, 600 Islamists Killed since January

The Malian army said Wednesday 63 soldiers and some 600 Islamists had been killed since the launch of the French-led military action to regain the country's north from Islamist groups linked to al-Qaida.

"Since the start of the military offensive launched January 11, 2013 against the Islamists, the death toll is 63 Malian soldiers killed and our opponents have lost about 600 fighters," army spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Souleymane Maiga told Agence France Presse.

He said most Malian soldiers had been killed in the field, while the others had succumbed later to their injuries.

"The deaths among the Islamists is an estimate, because the Islamists generally take their dead away for burial," Maiga told AFP, adding that it was French and African forces who had killed "these terrorists".

He told AFP one Togolese and a Burkinabe soldier had also died. Five French soldiers have also been killed since the start of Operation Serval.