SYLVIE CORBET
Associated Press
PARIS (AP) — A French soldier has been killed in Mali during an operation by French forces against an “armed terrorist group” in the north of the country, the French presidency said Wednesday.
The air command parachute sergeant was killed early Wednesday morning in the Kidal region’s Adrar des Ifoghas massif, the presidential communique said.
The presidency expressed “profound respect for the sacrifice” of the sergeant, who was not identified.
France’s defense minister said French forces had clashed violently with militants linked to al-Qaida’s North Africa branch.
Speaking at the National Assembly, Jean-Yves Le Drian said the fighting involved French forces leading a counterterrorism sweep and a sizeable armed group linked to al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb. He said the fighting that began overnight in Mali’s Ifoghas mountains had ended late Wednesday afternoon. He didn’t provide further details.
In a vast counterterrorism operation last year, French forces honoring a request from Mali’s weakened government fought and largely expelled insurgents from northern Mali — then controlled by the al-Qaida linked militants. But a recent resurgence of attacks that have killed 21 U.N. peacekeepers since early September led France to intensify military operations in the region.
In coordination with the peacekeepers, French troops including special forces launched operations focusing on the Ifoghas. A top French defense official estimated that as many as 200 insurgents remain active in northern Mali. He spoke only on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.
French defense officials say many of the fighters who were expelled from Mali have since gone to Libya. This year, it has taken a regional approach against Islamist groups. It has deployed some 3,000 troops, 200 armored vehicles and six fighter jets in the former French colonies of Mauritania, Burkina Faso, Niger, Chad and Mali.
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