Malian army soldiers in Bamako, Mali. (File photo: CGTN)

At least 10 Malian soldiers were killed in an overnight ambush in a central region near the Mauritania border where armed terrorists are rampant, security and local sources said on Friday.

10 soldiers were killed, including a senior officer, in the attack in Guire and four vehicles were torched, according to an internal security ministry report seen by AFP.

An elected official from the Guire region confirmed the toll.

"In the night, shots prevented us from sleeping, it looked like bombs, our houses were shaking,”the official said.

A local administrator speaking on condition of anonymity said men on motorcycles had been in the area since Monday.

This is the third time Malian forces have suffered heavy losses since the military took power in a coup on August 18.

The troubled West African country was plunged into further crisis when a military junta ousted president Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, shocking Mali's neighbors, which fear the fragile state already battling jihadism and an economic slump may slide into chaos.