JOIN USMacron says French forces killed Islamic State leader in Sahara
French President Emmanuel Macron said on Wednesday French military forces had killed islamic militant Adnan Abu Walid al-Sahrawi, the leader of Islamic State in the Greater Sahara.
Adnan Abou Walid al Sahraoui, chef du groupe terroriste État islamique au Grand Sahara a été neutralisé par les forces françaises. Il s’agit d’un nouveau succès majeur dans le combat que nous menons contre les groupes terroristes au Sahel.
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) September 15, 2021
Islamic State in the Greater Sahara is blamed for most of the jihadist attacks in the Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso region.
The flashpoint "tri-border" area is frequently targeted by ISGS and the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (GSIM).
"This is another major success in our fight against terrorist groups in the Sahel," Macron said.
ISGS has carried out particularly deadly attacks targeting civilians and soldiers in Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso.
The group targeted US soldiers in a deadly attack in 2017. On August 9, 2020, in Niger, the head of ISGS personally ordered the killing of six French aid workers and their Niger guides and drivers.
The French military has killed several high-ranking members of ISGS under its strategy of targeting jihadist leaders.
In June this year, Macron announced a reduction in France's anti-jihadist Barkhane force in the Sahel after more than eight years of military presence in the Sahel to refocus on counterterrorism operations and supporting local forces.
"The nation is thinking this evening of all its heroes who died for France in the Sahel in the Serval and Barkhane operations, of the bereaved families, of all its wounded.
"Their sacrifice is not in vain. With our African, European and American partners, we will continue this fight," Macron added in another tweet.