The United Nations mission in Mali says three people have been killed and 12 wounded in a rocket attack on a UN base in the north-eastern city of Kidal.

One of those dead is believed to be a UN peacekeeper.

More than 30 rockets and shells were fired early this morning.

The attack comes a day after five people were killed in a shooting at a restaurant in Mali's capital.

While violence has become all too common in the north of the country, yesterday's attack was the first in years to target the south.

Al Mourabitoun, or the Sentinels, a northern Mali jihadist group allied with al-Qaeda, claimed responsibility for the restaurant shooting, according to the Mauritanian news website Al-Akhbar.