“The attackers suffered heavy losses,” the statement said of fighting on Tuesday and Wednesday in three northern towns, adding that several others were injured including 10 soldiers.
The ministry said several vehicles were destroyed and added that the towns of Menaka, Aguelhoc and Tessalit were under the army’s control.
The Tuareg rebels had launched an offensive to seize several towns in the desert region where the nomadic tribe seeks autonomy.
Mali’s government said the attackers are members of the Azawad National Liberation Movement(MNLA) formed in late 2011, and boosted by the return of heavily armed Tuareg rebels from Libya’s conflict.
The Tuareg are demanding independence for their vast desert region, the Azawad, which stretches from the west to the north of Mali.
A nomadic community of some 1.5 million people, Tuareg of various tribes are scattered between Algeria, Burkina Faso, Libya, Niger and Mali.