"VAN" (International Desk) :: Seven United Nations peacekeepers were killed in an operation against a rebel militia in the Democratic Republic of Congo's restive east, the UN said on Thursday.
Ten other peacekeeping troops were wounded, and another is missing, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in New York.
Several Congolese were also killed or wounded in the joint operation, he said.
The deaths mark the biggest loss by the large UN force in DR Congo since the rebels killed 15 troops nearly a year ago.
Earlier Thursday, General Bernard Commins, deputy head of the MONUSCO force, said a joint operation had been launched with DRC troops on Tuesday against the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a jihadist group blamed for bloody attacks on civilians.
The offensive aimed at Kididiwe, about 20 kilometres (12 miles) from Beni, a city of between 200,000 and 300,000 inhabitants, said Commins.
“We are holding Kididiwe at present, after violent fighting with an armed group. At present, we are evacuating wounded Congolese troops and Blue Helmets,” he told.
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