Four Malian soldiers were killed Thursday and several others injured in landmine explosions in the centre of the sprawling country, military sources said.

"Four Malian soldiers died between Diabaly and Nampala when their vehicles hit landmines," a senior army officer told AFP.

Another officer stationed at Segou, one of the main cities in the region, confirmed the attack and said it took place in the village of N'Goma Coura.

"Two army cars were charred after three landmines exploded," the officer said, adding that several soldiers were injured.

He said army reinforcements had been sent to the area.

On October 5, two Malian soldiers died and two were seriously injured in a landmine blast near the fabled city of Timbuktu in the country's northeast.

Northern Mali fell into the hands of jihadists linked to Al-Qaeda in early 2012 -- briefly backed by Tuareg-led rebels -- throwing the country into chaos.

An ongoing international military intervention that began in January 2013 has driven Islamist fighters away from the major urban centres they had briefly controlled, but large tracts of Mali are still not controlled by domestic or foreign troops.