This article is from the source 'washpo' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/3-french-soldiers-killed-in-mali-mine-blast/2016/04/13/98cf15d2-014e-11e6-8bb1-f124a43f84dc_story.html

The article has changed 2 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
3 French soldiers killed in Mali mine blast 3 French soldiers die in Mali after convoy struck by blast
(about 7 hours later)
BAMAKO, Mali — A mine explosion in Mali has killed three French soldiers, in an unusually deadly incident for French anti-terrorist forces in the region. BAMAKO, Mali — The lead vehicle of a convoy struck a land mine laid by extremists in northern Mali, killing three French soldiers in the deadliest single incident for the former colonizer’s forces in three years, officials said Wednesday.
The French Defense Ministry says that soldiers had been approaching Tessalit in northern Mali in a convoy of about 60 vehicles when the lead armored vehicle was hit Tuesday. About 60 vehicles were approaching the far northern town of Tessalit when the lead armored vehicle was hit Tuesday, according to the French Defense Ministry. A 19-year-old soldier died instantly while two others succumbed to their wounds in Gao, officials said.
The Defense Ministry initially reported one death, and President Francois Hollande’s office said Wednesday that two others had died from wounds. Tuesday’s explosion marked the highest toll since 2013 when the French-led operation pushed jihadis from power in the major towns of northern Mali. Those rebels have regrouped and launched a number of attacks in recent months.
France has a few thousand forces in its Barkhane mission in multiple countries on the southern edge of the Sahara desert. The mission, created in 2014, stemmed from a French military intervention against Islamic extremists in Mali. “Three years later, northern Mali still isn’t totally secured. The violence continues, the attacks continue. Today the jihadi movements are underground and so it’s not easy to find them,” said Lemine Ould M. Salem, a specialist who studies jihadi movements in Africa’s Sahel region.
The European Union military mission headquarters in Mali’s capital was attacked last month. Seventeen French soldiers have died in Mali since French forces first launched their operation in 2013.
France at one time had 4,000 troops in Mali, though it now has a base in Chad from where it deploys several thousand troops to cover multiple countries on the southern edge of the Sahara desert as part of Operation Barkhane.
The threat from Islamic extremists has grown since that new operation launched in 2014. Al-Qaida militants have launched deadly assaults on a restaurant and on a major hotel in the capital of Bamako. Last month the European Union military mission headquarters in Bamako was attacked but no one was harmed although one attacker was killed.
Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.