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Friday, March 29, 2024

France says its army killed al Qaeda North Africa chief Droukdel

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France says its army killed al Qaeda North Africa chief Droukdel
France says its army killed al Qaeda North Africa chief Droukdel

France said on Friday (June 5) its military forces had killed al Qaeda's North Africa chief Abdelmalek Droukdel, a key Islamist fighter that its forces had been hunting for more than seven years, during an operation in Mali.

Abdelmalek Droukdel was al Qaeda’s North Africa chief — and France is saying its military forces have killed the key Islamist fighter after a seven-year hunt during an operation in Mali.

French Armed Forces Minister Florence Parly took to Twitter to announce the news on Friday (June 5).

The death of Droukdel comes almost six months after former colonial power France and regional states combined their military forces under one command structure to focus on fighting Islamic State-linked militants in the border regions of Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso.

Droukdel was among North Africa’s most experienced militants and was believed to be hiding in the mountains of northern Algeria.

Al Qaeda North Africa was the dominant jihadist force in the region, staging several high-profile deadly attacks until 2013 when it fractured as many militants flocked to the more extremist Islamic State as it seized territory in Iraq, Syria and Libya.

It remained active in North Africa’s largely desert and often scarcely governed Sahel region.

Critics in the region have increasingly scorned Paris for failing to restore stability.

Anti-French sentiment has grown as militants have strengthened their foothold, making large swathes of territory ungovernable and stoking ethnic violence.

Parly said earlier this week that about 100 special forces from other European countries would be deployed to the region to support French and regional troops.

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