8 dead, several wounded in 2 attacks on U.N. peacekeepers in Mali

Aug. 15 (UPI) -- At least eight people were killed and several were injured in two separate attacks on United Nations workers in Mali, the U.N. Mission said Monday night.

Armed assailants stormed into the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali headquarters in Timbuktu on Monday and opened fire, killing seven, according to a MINUSMA statement.

The dead include five MINUSMA security guards, one member of the Mali National Police and one civilian contractor working for MINUSMA, reported CNN.

The six assailants were also killed in the attack.

In a separate incident Monday, armed assailants attacked a U.N. Compound in the city of Douentza and opened fire on U.N. Peacekeepers and Malian soldiers. One peacekeeper was reported dead in the attack. The assailants were also killed.

The identities of the assailants and motive for the attacks have not yet been reported.

"I do not have enough words to condemn this cowardly and despicable act which takes place a few hours after the terrorist attack in Douentza," Mahamat Saleh Annadif, head of MINUSMA, said in a statement according to Al Jazeera.

In a statement posted on Facebook, the U.S. Security Council condemned the attacks.

"The members of the Security Council reaffirmed that terrorism in all its forms and manifestations constitutes one of the most serious threats to international peace and security," the statement said.