Three civilians were killed and 10 others injured by stray bullets during Sunday's confrontation between the Malian army and the Islamist rebels in the North-East town of Gao, local sources told Xinhua on Monday.

A youth leader from Gao town said the three civilians who were shot by stray bullets died while ten others were injured.

Another local source confirmed the death toll, and also noted that on the side of the fighters of the Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO), there were three deaths which included one suicide bomber who blew himself up.

On Monday morning, Mali's Defense Minister Yamoussa Camara affirmed during a press conference in Bamako that three Islamists had been killed while 11 others had been arrested, and added that three Malian soldiers were injured.