‘Decisive blow’: French forces kill Isis leader in Sahara
- Adnan Abu Walid al-Sahrawi was the leader of Isis in the Sahel region of West Africa
- France recently announced it would reduce its military presence in the region
France’s president announced the death of Islamic State in the Greater Sahara’s leader, calling Adnan Abu Walid al-Sahrawi’s killing “a major success” for the French military after more than eight years fighting extremists in the Sahel.
French President Emmanuel Macron tweeted that al-Sahrawi “was neutralised by French forces” but gave no further details. It was not announced where al-Sahrawi was killed, though Islamic State is active along the border between Mali and Niger.
“The nation is thinking tonight of all its heroes who died for France in the Sahel in the Serval and Barkhane operations, of the bereaved families, of all of its wounded,” Macron tweeted. “Their sacrifice is not in vain.”
Rumours of the militant leader’s death had circulated for weeks in Mali, though authorities in the region had not confirmed it. It was not immediately possible to independently verify the claim or to know how the remains had been identified.
“This is a decisive blow against this terrorist group,” French Defence Minister Florence Parly tweeted. “Our fight continues.”
The jihadist leader was behind the killing of French aid workers in 2020. Al-Sahrawi had claimed responsibility for a 2017 attack in Niger that killed four US military personnel and four people with Niger’s military. His group also has abducted foreigners in the Sahel and is believed to still be holding American Jeffrey Woodke, who was abducted from his home in Niger in 2016.