Jordanian soldier killed on duty in Mali as part of peacekeeping force

Sgt Ali Jumaa Shehadeh Al Jawabreh was part of Minusma peacekeeping force

A UN police officer escorts a Minusma vehicle during a night patrol in Timbuktu. AFP

A Jordanian soldier was killed while participating in a peacekeeping mission in Mali, Jordan's Armed Forces said in a statement on Wednesday.

The soldier, Sgt Ali Jumaa Shehadeh Al Jawabreh, was killed while on patrol as part of the Rapid Deployment Force in Mali.

The Jordanian army said two other soldiers, Sgts Suhaib Salah Qaftan Al Zoubi and Ahmed Habis Khalif Al Qublan, were injured in the attack.

El-Ghassim Wane, head of the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilisation Mission in Mali (Minusma), confirmed that one soldier had been killed by “terrorists”.

“This incident is a tragic reminder of the difficult operating environment and the sacrifices made by our blue helmets,” Mr Wane tweeted in French.

The convoy was hit by small-arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades in an attack that lasted about an hour, Minusma spokesman Olivier Salgado tweeted.

“Unfortunately, one of the blue helmets succumbed to his wounds following the attack,” he posted in French.

Both the Minusma and the Jordanian army did not provide details on who was behind the attack.

Minusma was deployed in 2013 to help shore up the fragile Sahel state in the face of extremist terror attacks.

With 13,000 members, the mission is one of the UN's biggest peacekeeping operations and also one of its most dangerous, with 172 troops killed.