French Defense Minister Says Army Kills Al-Qaeda Branch Leader in Mali
Xinhua News Agency, Paris, June 5 (Reporter Tang Ji) French Defense Minister Pali said on social media on the 5th that the French army killed the "Al Qaeda" North Africa branch in a military operation in northern Mali on the 3rd. The leader of Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, Abdul-Malik Drukdele.
Pali said that in this military operation, the French army, with the support of allies, removed Druckerler and his entourage. She believes that this war for regional peace and stability "has achieved great success."
She said that military operations against the other extreme organization "Islamic State of the Sahara" in the region are still in progress. On May 19 of this year, the French army captured Mohammed Murabite, an important leader of the organization.
She said that at the meeting held in France in January this year, the leaders of the five countries of France and the Sahel reiterated that they would continue to crack down on extremist organizations operating in the Sahel and Sahara regions of Africa.
In August 2014, the French army launched the "Crescent Dune" operation in the Sahel region. Under this framework of action, France dispatched thousands of soldiers to the Sahel region of Africa to cooperate with the multinational forces in the region to jointly combat terrorism.