Mali: Fifty terrorists linked to al Qaeda group in Mali were killed in a planned attack by the French government’s anti-jihadist force in the region last week.
French Defence Minister Florence Parly said the attack took place on Friday in an area near the borders of Burkina Faso and Niger, where government troops are struggling to rout an Islamic insurgency, after meeting members of Mali’s transitional government.
“On October 30 in Mali, the Barkhane force conducted an operation that neutralised more than 50 jihadists and confiscated arms and material,” Parly said, referring to the French-led anti-jihadist Operation Barkhane. 30 motorcycles were destroyed in the attack.
Parly, had met Niger President Mahamadou Issoufou and her Nigerien counterpart Issoufou Katambe before heading to Bamako. She said the operation was launched after a drone detected a “very large” motorcycle caravan in the “three borders” area. The attack marked a significant blow to to the Ansarul Islam group which was linked to the Al Qaeda via the Group for Islam and Muslims (GSIM) alliance led by Iyad Ag Ghaly.
