30th April, 2024
Mali State TV has confirmed the killing of a senior Islamic State, ISIS, commander, Abu Huzeifa in a joint force including troops from Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger.
Abu Huzeifa had been linked to several high-profile raids in the Sahel region which includes a 2017 attack that killed four US soldiers and several troops from Niger.
The IS leader who had a $5 million bounty on his head was killed on Sunday in an operation in the Northern town of Indelimane in the Menaka region.
Mali state TV described it as “a victory against a bane of evil”.
Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger have all suffered from relentless attacks by jihadist fighters.
All three countries are under military rule and have been developing close links with Russia while cutting ties with Western allies including the US.
They have been welcoming Russian military help while forcing troops from other countries to leave.
The report said Huzeifa, who was also known as Higgo, was a Moroccan national and a commander in IS’s self-styled Sahel Province.
The US government said Hufeiza was wanted in connection to an attack on a US Special Forces team in Niger in 2017 which led to the deaths of four American and four Nigerien soldiers.