Malian soldiers patrol in the streets of Timbuktu on February 1, 2013
France says about 10 Islamist fighters were killed Thursday as French and Malian forces repelled an attack on the northern Mali city of Timbuktu.
A French army spokesman said in Paris that two Malian soldiers were slightly wounded in the overnight clash.
Timbuktu residents reported hearing several hours of gunfire and seeing French warplanes overhead.