Suspected extremist fighters attacked a town in western Mali near the border with neighbouring Mauritania before dawn on Saturday, leaving up to 11 people dead, including three soldiers and eight attackers, an army nurse said.
A senior army officer said military intelligence and initial witness accounts indicated the attackers were Islamist fighters mainly from the Peuhl ethnic group.
The raid took place a week after a Tuareg-led northern rebel alliance signed a peace deal with the government aimed at ending their uprising and allowing the authorities to focus on fighting extremist militants.
Gunfire erupted at around 5 a.m. (0500 GMT) in the town of Nara, around 30 km (19 miles) south of border with Mauritania.