Several Malian and foreign military bases were hit by mortars and rockets in suspected militant attacks in the north of the country on Monday, AFP reports quoting military sources.

The attacks on Menaka, Gao and Kidal appeared to be coordinated and believed to target foreign forces operating in the country.

The military sources said no casualties had been reported after the attacks.

Mali has been dogged by an Islamist insurgency for years, a conflict that has since spilled over into neighbouring Burkina Faso and Niger.

Jihadists once controlled the northern part of Mali, but were trounced with support from foreign forces.

France has deployed around 5,000 troops in the Sahel region as part of an anti-jihadist operation, which has also seen thousands of UN peacekeepers deployed.

"The terrorists tried unsuccessfully to carry out a coordinated action against the camps of Barkhane, the UN peacekeepers, against the European force Takuba and against the Malian army in Gao, Menaka, and Kidal," AFP quotes a foreign military official.

"The situation is under control."