Seven United Nations peacekeepers were wounded in central Mali on Saturday when a roadside bomb exploded under their convoy, said the UN force in the West African country (MINUSMA).

The UN said on social media the soldiers were "receiving appropriate treatment", without detailing their condition or giving their nationality.

A MINUSMA spokeswoman confirmed the information to AFP.

The improvided explosive device (IED) blew up as the convoy went over it 34 kilometres (21 miles) north of the town of Douentza.

There have been six similar roadside bomb attacks this year in central Mail, where jihadists are known to operate, the UN force said.

Landmines and IEDs are regularly blamed on the jihadists, who have been targeting foreign forces and symbols of the state in Mali since 2012.

The attacks kill scores of people every year, both soldiers and civilians, with 80 UN peacekeepers dying in such attacks over the past decade.

The 12,000-member UN force in Mali has suffered the most casualties in recent years among the agency's peacekeeping missions deployed worldwide.

A total of 185 MINUSMA members have been killed since it was established in 2013.