Two die in Mali blast

Bamako - Two people were killed when an explosive went off, apparently by accident, in northern Mali, an official said on Tuesday.

The explosive detonated while it was being manipulated, bringing down a house in the northern city of Gao on Monday, said Choguel Maiga, a government spokesperson. Malian and UN officials are now searching the house for more information.

Mali's north fell to al-Qaeda linked Islamic extremists following a military coup in 2012. A French-led intervention in early 2013 scattered the extremists, but remnants of the group that controlled Gao before the intervention have since claimed responsibility for a series of attacks in the region around the city.