The army said on social media that it had also lost a plane during the fighting in the town of Lere, in the Timbuktu Region of northern Mali.
Around 30 assailants were "neutralized" in the attack on Sunday, which the army said was carried out by "terrorists."
The Coordination of Azawad Movements, CMA, an alliance of armed groups dominated by Tuaregs who took up arms in 2012 seeking autonomy or independence, claimed responsibility for the attack on Sunday.
The group says it had taken control of two military camps in Lere and shot down an army plane.
The attackers then left or were chased from the site by the army backed up by air force power, according to contradictory accounts from the two sides, AFP reports.
It was the latest attack against army positions in northern Mali, which in recent weeks has seen a resurgence of activity by armed groups, separatists or jihadists.
The 2012 rebel insurrection paved the way for armed groups linked to Al-Qaeda to conquer most of the north, triggering a military intervention by France and plunging the Sahel into war that has left thousands dead.