Killing of Adnan Abu Walid al-Sahrawi | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Part of Operation Barkhane in the Mali War | |||||||
| |||||||
Belligerents | |||||||
France | Islamic State in the Greater Sahara | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Unknown | Adnan Abu Walid al-Sahrawi † | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
20 men | Unknown | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
None | ~12 killed |
Between August 17 to 21, 2021, French forces under Operation Barkhane launched an operation to attack Islamic State in the Greater Sahara bases located in the Dangalous forest near In-Delimane, Mali. The battle killed the commander of ISGS, Adnan Abu Walid al-Sahrawi.[1]
Two Islamic State fighters captured on July 14 reported the presence of ISGS camps in the Dangarous Forest, a notoriously wooded area that is difficult to access.[1][2] On August 17, French intelligence conducted initial operations in the forest, with a Reaper drone killing two armed men on a motorcycle.[3][1] One of the two killed turned out to be Adnan Abu Walid al-Sahrawi, the leader of Islamic State in the Greater Sahara, although this was not immediately identifiable.[4][3][5]
The second part of the operation was carried out between August 20 and August 22.[1][3] About twenty men, supported by drones and helicopters, intercepted two more men on motorcycles.[1] After a short firefight, the two men were killed. French forces then proceeded to launch airstrikes on ISGS positions inside the forest, which continued after the French soldiers retreated.[4]
According to the French government, around a dozen jihadists were killed.[3]
On September 16, 2021, French president Emmanuel Macron released a statement saying that the leader of ISGS had been "neutralized" in a strike by French forces in August.[6][7] French Minister of Defence Florence Parly stated that the killing of al-Sahrawi "deals a decisive blow to the command of Daesh in the Sahel because ISGS will no doubt have difficulty replacing its emir with a figure of the same stature."[3]