Bombardment of Ametettai
| Bombardment of Ametettai | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Mali War | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 France |
 al-Mourabitoun | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Unknown |
Omar Ould Hamaha † Abdelwaheb al-Harrachi † | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| None |
11 killed Several injured | ||||||
Between March 4 and 5, 2014, French forces conducted a bombing campaign in the Ametettai mountains of Kidal Region against al-Mourabitoun. The bombings killed Omar Ould Hamaha, a prominent jihadist commander, and several other militants.
Background
[edit]During the initial days of Operation Serval, French forces launched raids against Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and other jihadist groups in their headquarters in the Ametettai mountains in rural Kidal Region. Chadian forces fought a major battle in the Ametettai mountains during the Battle of Ifoghas in February and March 2013. In January 2014, American-made Reaper drones bought by France were used in Mali for the first time.[1]
Bombardment
[edit]On March 4, French observation drones spotted a group of jihadists in the Ametettai valley. According to the French minister of defense Jean-Yves Le Drian, around ten militants had rocket launchers and an arms cache.[1] French fighter jets then came back to Ametettai in the late afternoon of March 4, and launched airstrikes five hours later.[2] The jihadists shot back with a single rocket attack, but it missed.[2]
A Malian army official stated eleven jihadists were killed in the bombing. A few others were injured, and were able to escape.[3][2] French intelligence stated Omar Ould Hamaha, a prominent jihadist commander, and Abdelwaheb al-Harrachi were killed in the attack.[4][5] These statements were disputed by AQIM spokesperson Abou Assem al-Moujahir, who claimed Hamaha was still alive and that the French statements were unfounded.[6]
References
[edit]- ^ a b "Mali: nouvelle opération antiterroriste de l'armée française". Le Figaro (in French). 2014-03-06. Retrieved 2024-02-24.
- ^ a b c à 20h01, Par Le 6 mars 2014 (2014-03-06). "Mali : une dizaine de combattants d'Aqmi tués par les forces françaises". leparisien.fr (in French). Retrieved 2024-02-24.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "Une dizaine de combattants d'Aqmi tués dans le nord-est du Mali". RFI (in French). 2014-03-07. Retrieved 2024-02-24.
- ^ "Mali: mort d'un important jihadiste". RFI (in French). 2014-03-14. Retrieved 2024-02-24.
- ^ "Plus de 40 djihadistes ont été tués dans le nord du Mali par les forces françaises". Le Monde.fr (in French). 2014-03-21. Retrieved 2024-02-24.
- ^ "Aqmi dément la mort d'un de ses chefs annoncée par Paris". www.rtl.fr (in French). 2014-04-13. Retrieved 2024-02-24.