File photo shows a member of security forces stands guard at a car bomb attack site in Gao, Mali, on Jan. 18, 2017.(Xinhua/Zhao Ziquan)

BAMAKO, July 1 (Xinhua) -- At least two French soldiers were killed on Sunday in Gao, a town in northern Mali, after a bomb targeting French and Malian forces exploded, according to security sources.

Two French soldiers were killed and some others were wounded in the attack, said a spokesperson of the Malian defense ministry.

The car bomb explosion targeted a French and Malian military patrol and was followed by gunfire between the attackers and the soldiers, said security sources.

The French soldiers, who were traveling with a joint military patrol convoy when the attack hit, were part of the French anti-terror force Barkhane, said the sources.

With the support of African countries, France deployed 4,000 troops in the Sahel region in 2015 to combat extremist insurgents and restore security in the area.

At the request of the Malian authorities, France launched air and ground operations in the country in January 2013 to help dispel Islamist insurgents from the Malian northern region.