Attacks on an army base and a passenger boat on the Niger River in northern Mali Thursday killed 64 people, a Malian official said.

The two separate attacks targeted the Timbuktu boat on the Niger river and an army position at Bamba, in the northern Gao region with "a provisional toll of 49 civilians and 15 soldiers killed", according to a government statement.

It did not specify how many died in each assault, but the assaults were "claimed" by a group affiliated to Al-Qaeda.

Earlier the Malian army said on social media that the boat was attacked around 1100 GMT by "armed terrorist groups".

The vessel, plying an established route between cities along the river, was targeted by "at least three rockets" which aimed at its engines, the operator Comanav said separately.

The vessel was immobilized on the river and the army is evacuating passengers, a Comanav official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.