French forces kill 11 militants in Mali

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jan/24/french-forces-kill-militants-mali

Version 0 of 1.

French forces killed at least 11 suspected Islamist fighters and seized large amounts of weapons and ammunition during an operation in Mali's northern region of Timbuktu, a French army source in Mali has said.

"The operation was carried out on Wednesday night around 100km north of Timbuktu," the source said. "Eleven terrorists were killed and one French soldier was wounded."

A source at the Malian defence ministry in Bamako said French forces were carrying out operations against Islamist militants in the region. He could not confirm the killing of the militants.

A French-led offensive last January drove out Islamist militants who had seized control of northern Mali. However, some fighters linked to al-Qaida are still holding out.

The groups have stepped up attacks in recent months, targeting the northern cities of Kidal, Timbuktu and Gao. Two French journalists were killed by Islamists in Kidal in November.

French and Malian military officials said threats of militant attacks on Timbuktu and Kidal remained real. Patrols are ongoing in the Adrar des Ifoghas mountain region near the Algerian border, used by militants as hideouts.

Colonel Abdoulaye Coulibaly, who commands Mali military operations in the region, said al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb and the Movement for Unification and Jihad in West Africa were operating in the Ifoghas mountains.

"There are occasional military operations which disperse them, but the area, which is vast, has not been completely searched and cleared. It is possible that they may return and regroup," Coulibaly said.