PARIS (AP) — The president’s office says a French soldier has died while taking part in a reconnaissance mission in Mali.

Forty-five year-old Dejvid Nikolic — from the Genie 1st regiment — was killed by a suicide attack Monday in the north of the country some 100 kilometers (60 miles) from Gao.

French President Francois Hollande expressed his “profound sadness” at the tragedy and praised the bravery of French soldiers who are in Mali to fight terrorist groups.

France intervened in Mali 18 months ago after al-Qaida-linked extremists seized a swath of the former French colony.

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