By Cheick Diouara GAO, Mali (Reuters) - A suicide bomber killed three Chadian soldiers at a market in the northern Malian town of Kidal on Friday, a Chadian military official and three witnesses said. Chadian and French soldiers have been stationed in the desert town since late January to fight Islamist rebels hiding in the region's mountainous borderlands.

Five Malian soldiers died Friday when their helicopter crashed in the centre of the war-torn west African nation, local government and army sources told AFP. "The crash of a Malian army helicopter killed all five passengers, Malian soldiers. This happened near Sevare. The Malian army is in mourning," a local official from the Mopti regional administration told AFP. A Malian military source confirmed the incident, saying a colonel was among the five dead and the cause was mechanical failure. sd/mrb/ft/mfp

By Tiemoko Diallo BAMAKO (Reuters) - The United States will seek ways it can help French and African forces in Mali combat al Qaeda-linked rebels, U.S. Senator John McCain said on Tuesday during a visit to the West African country. France launched a military offensive in Mali in January against Islamist militants threatening the capital. That drove the insurgents out of the towns they had seized, but they have since hit back with suicide attacks and guerrilla-style raids.

The EU began a top-to-toe overhaul of Mali's ill-prepared, ragtag army on Tuesday to help the west African nation take the place of foreign troops defending it against an Islamist insurgency. The first of 570 Malian troops were due to arrive in Koulikoro, 60 kilometres (37 miles) from the capital Bamako, to train under European instructors as part of a wider effort to bring the army up to scratch as quickly as possible.