The France-led counterterrorism mission Barkhane in the African region of Sahel has eliminated a leader of the so-called Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS, affiliate of the Islamic State terrorist group, banned in Russia) in Niger, the French Defense Ministry said on Tuesday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 21st December, 2021) The France-led counterterrorism mission Barkhane in the African region of Sahel has eliminated a leader of the so-called Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS, affiliate of the Islamic State terrorist group, banned in Russia) in Niger, the French Defense Ministry said on Tuesday.
The operation was conducted on Monday.
"During this operation, in close coordination with the Nigerien authorities, the Barkhane Force neutralized Soumana Boura. After having been located in an ISGS haven north of the city of Tillaberi, then formally identified, he was neutralized by an airstrike," the ministry said in a statement.
The terrorist was linked to the murder of six French citizens and two Nigerians in a giraffe reserve in western Niger last August.
Operation Barkhane was founded to fight terrorism in Sahel in 2014. The French-led mission involves forces of the G5 Sahel countries, including Niger, Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, and Mauritania. In summer 2021, French President Emmanuel Macron said that Operation Barkhane will be reformed into an international counterterrorist alliance.
