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| Africa North |
| French Army Says 15 Islamists Killed in Mali |
| 2013-03-20 |
| [An Nahar] Fifteen Islamist fighters have been killed in recent days in the northern Mali region of Gao, the French army said Tuesday, announcing the seizure of a large cache of arms and ammunition. The claim came two weeks after France said more than 150 Islamist rebels had been killed since the middle of February in Mali. French losses in the intervention have been limited to five casualties. The French soldiers came under sporadic heavy- and medium-range fire in the area of Djebok, east of Gao, the joint staff said, adding that they "neutralized 15 terrorists" since Thursday. They found eight vehicles mounted with anti-aircraft guns, landmines and a large horde of weapons and ammunition. France has more than 4,000 troops on the ground in Mali, of whom about 1,200 are currently deployed in the northeast, carrying out clean-up operations after driving out most of the Islamist rebels from the area. There are still pockets of resistance in areas such as Gao, which have witnessed stray attacks and suicide bombings since the Islamists fled. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #2 Maybe Nigeria should talk to France about loaning them the Foreign Legion for a while to deal with Boko Haram. France's only interest is with its former colonies. |
| Posted by: Pappy 2013-03-20 14:53 |
| #1 Funny how Islamists wither and die when they do not have the necessary indigenous support system. The AQ made a big mistake in Mali by pissing off all the locals with their crazy sharia crap and brutality. AND since the French seem to love fighting Islamists in North Africa, this is not a fair fight, we should give the French a standing TKO on how thoroughly they are beating the AQ's butt. Maybe Nigeria should talk to France about loaning them the Foreign Legion for a while to deal with Boko Haram. |
| Posted by: Bill Clinton 2013-03-20 10:21 |