The French army fights jihadists from Al-Qaeda in Mali
France: we have eliminated the head of North African Al-Qaeda
The World Daily | News Desk | JUNE 6th 2020
“The French contingent in Mali eliminated the head of Al-Qaeda in North Africa, Abdelmalek Droukdel, on June 3”, France's Defence Minister Florence Parly said on Friday. The legendary Islamist commander was killed in an ambush near the city of Tessalit in the North of the country.
As the French Defence Minister Florence Parly noted, along with 50-year-old Droukdel, the French army “neutralized a group of his close associates.” A native of Algeria, Abdelmalek Droukdel “was a member of Al-Qaeda's top leadership, responsible for Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQMI) and operations in Sahel along the southern outskirts of Sahara,” the head of the French Ministry of Defence stressed.
Parly explained that the operation, which allowed the liquidation of the dangerous commander, is part of a wider operation of clearing areas in the North of Mali by a French contingent of five thousand soldiers. “On May 19, French military captured Mohamed el Mrabat, who is a jihad veteran in the tropical Sahel,” she said.
In recent months, French troops have managed to eliminate a total of over 500 jihadists - writes AFP, citing trusted military sources. Al-Qaeda's activities in Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso over the past year have resulted in the deaths of almost four thousand people.
Abdelmalek Droukdel, also known as Abou Moussab Abdelwadoud, was an engineer by profession. He fought in Afghanistan before. When, at the end of 2004, he assumed the role of Emir of the Salafi teaching and preaching group, and quickly transformed it into a local branch of Al-Qaeda. The creation of AQMI was announced in 2007 - describes the AFP agency.
The northern regions of Mali were overrun by jihadist groups associated with Al-Qaeda in March and April 2012. Islamists were expelled from there as a result of the French military intervention launched in January 2013. However, entire areas of the country are still beyond the control of the Malian, French or UN “Minusma” mission forces.
Since 2015, acts of violence in the northeast of Mali have been increasing. Violence spread to central Mali and to the neighbouring countries of Niger and Burkina Faso. The Malian army has been conducting a joint operation on the border between Niger and Mali for many months with the participation of the Niger army. Notwithstanding these operations, French forces are also operating in the South of the country; the army is supported by the French anti-terrorist brigade.
© The World Daily 2020 | News Desk
