Suicide vehicle attack on a Barkhane vehicle. A non-trivial process

(B2) Six French soldiers were injured by a suicide vehicle attack in Mali, in the three-border area, on Friday (January 8)

The GTD Lamy in operation

It was early Friday morning, while the 'Desert Tactical Group' (GTD Lamy) of the Barkhane force was in a joint operation with Malian soldiers from the 33rd Parachute Commando Regiment (33rd RCP) north of the village of Isey. , about fifty kilometers south-west of Hombori, in the area of ​​the three borders.

A suicide vehicle

A " unknown vehicle then moved at high speed towards the rear of the device ” indicates the statement of the staff of the armies. An armored infantry fighting vehicle (VBCI) then " interposed to protect the other elements of the force ". Faced with this manoeuvre, the driver of the SVBIED (in military parlance, suicide vehicle terminal improvised explosive device) detonated its explosive charge near the VBCI.

Six injured

Six French soldiers were injured. Immediately taken care of, they were evacuated by helicopter to the Gao military hospital. But their vital prognosis is not engaged. Three of the six soldiers are evacuated to a military hospital this Saturday (09.01) morning.

Third incident in a few days

This is the third incident in a matter of days (read: New attack against a vehicle of Operation Barkhane near Menaka in Mali et Three Barkhane soldiers die in an IED) . But this time it is not an artisanal mine, remote-controlled or not, as before, but a suicide vehicle. This process is not new in itself in Mali, contrary to what one might think at first glance.

A process already used in the past

This process was used in July 2020 against a Barkhane patrol (read: Death of a French soldier targeted by a suicide attack in Mali) or in July 2019 against the Gao base (read: Several French and Estonian soldiers injured in Gao during a suicide attack). And we also remember that the EU military training mission (EUTM Mali) in Koulikoro had suffered a rather elaborate attack in February 2019 (read: Details of the attack on the EUTM Mali camp in Koulikoro et Terrorist attack on the EUTM Mali training center in Koulikoro last night). If we go back further to the beginning of the French operation which was called "Serval" at the time, a man from the Legion died on July 14, 2014 in a suicide attack. north of Gao (read : A French non-commissioned officer of Serbian origin killed in Mali (Maj)).

(NGV)

Updated with history of attacks