Two soldiers killed in north Mali explosion

BAMAKO (Reuters) - Two soldiers were killed in northern Mali and four injured after an improvised explosive device blew up at a checkpoint, the government and the United Nations said on Sunday. "This morning around 8 a.m., two Malian soldiers were killed and four injured following the explosion of an explosive device at a checkpoint near Almoustrate," the U.N. peacekeeping mission MINUSMA said in a statement, referring to an area about 120 kilometers north of Gao. Al Qaeda-linked Islamists who seized northern Mali in 2012 have carried out a series of insurgent-style attacks since they were scattered across the Sahara by a French-led offensive last year. (Reporting by Tiemoko Diallo; Writing by Emma Farge; Editing by Chris Reese)