A Transport Union official has disclosed that eight people were killed and 42 were injured in Mali after a ​passenger bus carrying civilians hit a ‌land mine west of the capital Bamako.

The explosion happened on a road where al ​Qaeda-linked Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin operates and ⁠follows unprecedented assaults in April by ​JNIM in coordination with a Tuareg-dominated rebel group.

The Communications Officer for ​the National Drivers’ Union Mamadou Kassambara, told journalists today morning that the bus hit the land mine on the road from Bamako ​to Kayes.

Africa Corps, ‌a ⁠Russian paramilitary group operating in Mali, said in a different social media post that five people had been killed ​and more than ​10 ⁠were injured in the incident, but nobody has claimed responsibility ​for laying the land mine.

JNIM announced ​a ⁠blockade on Bamako following the April attacks and has set up checkpoints on some major ⁠roads ​to the city, as the West Africa’s Sahel ​region has become a global hotspot of terrorism.

Additional Reporting from Associated Press