<div><b><span style="font-size: 1rem;">Three Bangladeshi peacekeepers were injured in an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) blast in Mali on Sunday morning.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>The blast took place on Sunday at around 9:30 am local time in Mali, when a motorcade of a patrol team under Bangladesh Formed Police Unit (BANFPU-2) reached the remote desert road along the mountains of Gundam-Tongka-Niaphungke Highway, some 15 km off from the Gundam Super Camp in Mali's Timbuktu Region, according to a press release issued from Police headquarters here on Monday evening.</div><div><br></div><div>The Armoured personnel Carrier (APC), which was carrying the policemen, was also damaged in the incident, says the press release.</div><div><br></div><div>The Police headquarters did not disclose identities of the three injured Bangladeshi police peacekeepers.</div><div><br></div><div>The patrol team was part of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA).</div><div><br></div><div>According to the press release, the peacekeepers on patrol duty spotted a suspicious hole in the middle of the road. The IED exploded as they maneuvered past the hole.</div><div><br></div><div>“Due to the intelligence of the police peacekeepers and the APCTs' capability to withstand the high-level explosions, they escaped from greater danger,” said the press release.</div><div><br></div><div>It is also to be noted that MINUSMA authorities have highly appreciated the members of BANFPU-2, MINUSMA, and Mali as they have performed their peacekeeping duties with utmost professionalism and vigilance.</div><div><br></div><div>IED blasts are common in this region of Mali. - UNB</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>