Senior Daesh terrorist killed in Africa’s Sahel
French defense minister says death of Daesh leader Abu Walid al-Sahrawi following a strike by France's Barkhane force in Sahel deals 'a decisive blow' to the terrorist group. Daesh also known as Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS) is blamed for most of the terrorist attacks in Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso, and is responsible for the deaths of between 2,000 and 3,000 civilians since 2013.
Adnan Abu Walid al-Sahrawi, considered one of the most ruthless terrorists in the Sahel and France's top enemy in the troubled African region, was declared killed on Thursday.
Al-Sahrawi headed the highly active Daesh affiliate in the central Sahel a terrorist group also known as the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS).
The terrorist group has been blamed for a string of bloody attacks across the vast semi-arid region.
It claimed responsibility for the ambush near the village of Tongo Tongo in Niger in 2017 that claimed the lives of four US special forces and four Nigerien troops.
The French army said Thursday that it had killed al-Sahrawi in an air strike while he was riding on a motorbike in the north of the country.
French Defense Minister Florence Parly told RFI radio that he was targeted since he was "the uncontested, authoritarian leader" of the group.
Adnan Abou Walid al-Sahrawi, was killed by French forces, President Emmanuel Macron announced early on Thursday via his twitter account.
"This is another major success in our fight against terrorist groups in the Sahel," Macron added.
"The nation is thinking tonight of all its heroes who died for France in the Sahel in the Serval and Barkhane operations, of the bereaved families, of all of its wounded," Macron also said. "Their sacrifice is not in vain."
