French forces have killed Adnan Abou Walid al Sahraoui, leader of the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISIS-GS), in a drone strike, the French government announced on Thursday.
Al Sahroui succumbed to his wounds, suffered in a strike on a motorbike carrying two people during a French-led air and ground operation in Mali, French minister for the armed forces Florence Parly said at a press conference. The operation took place between August 17 and 22,2021, Parly said. He had earlier tweeted Thursday that military and intelligence agents had contributed to a «long-term hunt» for the ISIS-GS leader, which she described as a «decisive blow» for the group. «This is another major success in our fight against terrorist groups in the Sahel,» President Macron tweeted. ISIS-GS was established in 2015 after al Sahraoui broke from the al Qaeda-associated al-Murabitun group — another splinter group based in Africa.
