BAMAKO, Mali (AP) — The Mali army attacked Islamist rebels with heavy weapons in the center of the country which divides the insurgent-held north and the government-controlled south, government officials said Thursday.

The army attacked the rebel positions north of Konna, about 700 kilometers (435 miles) northeast of the capital, Bamako, said Lt. Col. Diarran Kone, communications adviser for the Ministry of Defense, to The Associated Press.