Mali conflict: 'First suicide bombing' in Gao

A suicide bomber has blown himself up in the northern Mali town of Gao - the country's first such case, sources say.

The attacker approached a group of soldiers on a motorbike before detonating an explosive belt, injuring one of them, a Malian officer.

Gao is the most populous city in northern Mali, which was captured by Islamist militants last year.

Meanwhile, there are report of exchanges of fire between rival soldiers in the capital, Bamako.

Heavily armed soldiers attacked a camp of elite paratroopers, leaving "many injured", 

On Thursday, there were unconfirmed reports that four Malian soldiers had been killed by a landmine on a road near Gao, with one of the militant groups saying it had carried out the attack.

The militants took advantage of a coup in March 2012 to extend their control across the whole of northern Mali - an area of the Sahara Desert larger than France.