A Chinese peacekeeper was among four killed people in two separate attacks on the United Nations' peacekeeping mission's outposts in the northern parts of Mali on Tuesday.

Al Qaeda's Noorth African branch - Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) - on Wednesday claimed responsibility for the attack on the United Nations' Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) base in Gao city.  Four Chinese peacekeepers were reportedly injured in the attack.

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China has condemned the attack and called for an immediate probe into the incident. "We extend our deepest condolences to the victims and express our heartfelt sympathy to the wounded and the families of the victims," China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said.

"The Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and the State Council are taking the incident very seriously, Hua said, noting that emergency response and follow-up measures had been launched immediately," Hua added. "The attack targeted UN peacekeepers, making it a terrible, intolerable crime." The spokesperson also informed that more than 2,400 Chinese peacekeepers are currently deployed in seven African countries including Mali.

U.N. Chief Ban Ki-moon, in a statement, expressed his outrage at the attacks on U.N. targets in Mali.

"The Secretary-General is outraged by the terrorist attacks carried out yesterday in Gao, Mali, against the United Nations," the Secretary General's spokesperson said.  "[Mr. Ban] is deeply concerned by the recent series of attacks directed against MINUSMA that have killed 12 peacekeepers and injured many more in May alone."

TagsChinese peacekeepers, UN, Mali, Al-qaeda