BAMAKO, Mali: A local official says that a suicide bombing by members of an Al-Qaeda branch in North Africa has killed at least three Chadians in northern Mali, witnessed said.

Kidal's deputy mayor, Abda Ag Kazina, said yesterday that two suicide bombers were also killed in the operation.

Lalla Maiga, a humanitarian worker in Kidal, says that the Chad soldiers were targeted in a market where one suicide bomber exploded his belt. Maiga said that many civilians were also injured in the attack.

"He blew himself up next to a group of Chadian soldiers. Three were killed in the blast and several others were wounded," resident Ag Waerzagane Assikadaye told Reuters by telephone.

Chadian and French soldiers have been stationed in the desert town since late January to fight rebels hiding in the region's mountainous borderlands.

This is the third suicide bombing attack in Kidal since the French forces entered Mali to fight Al-Qaeda-linked militants. Chad soldiers are helping back French troops in the mountains of the north Kidal region where militants are now hiding out.