By RFIPalled on 23-11-2018Modified on 23-11-2018 at 23:23

Thirty jihadists were killed during an operation of the French force Barkhane, announced the staff of the armed forces Friday in a statement. The Minister of the Armed Forces Florence Parly speaks of a "complex and large-scale action which made it possible to neutralize an important terrorist detachment in which was probably one of the main assistants of Iyad ag Ghaly, Hamadoun Kouffa, chief of the katiba Massina ".

" There is a high probability that Hamadoun Kouffa was put out of harm's way during this operation, " Barkhane's spokesman Colonel Patrick Steiger said earlier. " What is certain is that about thirty fighters have been neutralized, some of whom are executives of katiba Massina, " he added.

The operation of the French military took place on the night of Thursday to Friday, about fifty kilometers north-west of Mopti, in the center of the country. It was first an air raid, and then troops were helicoptered to the target, which was a camp of Katiba Massina.

If the death of Hamadoun Kouffa is confirmed, it is a real blow for the GSIM. First it would be the second katiba leader to be killed by French soldiers in a week. Last Friday, the staff announced the death of Al-Mansour Ag Alkassim , a cadre who fought in the region of Timbuktu.

Two weeks ago, the GSIM published a video highlighting Hamadoun Kouffa alongside Iyad Ag Ghaly. " Our operation has clearly denied that they claim to be able to move freely around the region, " said Colonel Steiger.

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