PARIS, Rajab 09, 1438, April 06, 2017, SPA -- A French soldier was killed in Mali after a clash with armed militants, French President Francois Hollande's office said on Thursday, according to Reuters. "The president has learned with great sadness of the death of a (soldier) ... following a clash with terrorists during an operation in the southeast of the country," Hollande's office said in a statement. Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said the soldier, the 19th to be killed since Paris' intervention, had died during a joint operation with Burkinabe and Malian forces on Wednesday afternoon near Hombari on Mali's southwestern border. He said the troops were attacked after an explosive device blew up an armoured vehicle, with the soldier killed in the ensuing clash. "The situation in Mali remains unstable," Le Drian told reporters on Thursday. --SPA 14:22 LOCAL TIME 11:22 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/w370609