Mauritania says 15 al-Qaida fighters have been killed and nine captured in a joint operation with Mali against an al-Qaida terrorist camp in Mali.

A colonel said Sunday two Mauritanian soldiers were also killed in Friday's raid on the camp in the Wagadou forest region near Mali's border with Mauritania.

He said soldiers from Mali have also captured nine al-Qaida fighters.

Armies from both countries are engaged in a military operation aimed at rousting al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb group from their camps near the border areas.

Terrorists from the al-Qaida North African affiliate have used the camps to launch attacks in the region.