mali. The French carry out a helicopter raid near the Algerian border
(B2 with AFP) On the night of February 13 to 14, 2018, French forces engaged in the Sahel carried out an operation on three objectives of armed terrorist groups, in northeastern Mali, between Boughessa and Tin-Zaouatène, said Thursday the army staff. In fact a few hundred meters from the Algerian border.
Close to Algeria
The operation took place near Inaghalawass, a wadi 900 meters from the Algerian border, between 4:40 a.m. and 5:20 a.m. (GMT and local) “, told AFP a foreign security source present in Mali. " It is the base of the head of the network, Iyad Ag Ghaly, in Tinzaouatène which was the main target of this operation ».
Airstrikes and helicopter assaults
The operation began with simultaneous airstrikes on the objectives, followed by helicopter assaults supported by Tiger helicopters and concluded by a ground engagement ". The balance sheet, provisoire at this stage is of a " twenty terrorists killed or captured, three vehicles destroyed, weapons recovered, as well as a large number of documents seized ". A relative of the jihadist leader, a former colonel in the Malian army who had defected, was killed in the raid, the Malian Armed Forces (FAMa) said.
Several security operations in the area of the three borders
At the same time, several joint security operations (with Malian forces) were carried out in the three-border area (between Mali, Niger and Algeria) by Operation Barkhane. The operations were concentrated mainly around Ménaka. Joint patrols with the Malian armed forces were also carried out in Ansongo by the French soldiers present under the operational military partnership. In northern Mali, the "armored desert land" group was engaged in security and zone control operations on the axis linking Almoustarat and Tarikent. Joint patrols were conducted with the Malian armed forces.
(NGV and AFP)
