A joint military force consisting of troops from Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger have killed a “major ISIS commander” who had a $5 million US bounty on his head.
Malian state TV reports that the operation to eliminate Abu Huzeifa was executed in a tri-border area between the three Sahel countries.
Huzeifa was a member of the Islamic State’s Sahel Province (ISGS) and had been linked to several dastardly attacks in the region, including one that killed four US soldiers and several Nigerien troops.
Following the attack, the US government offered a $5million bounty for information on Huzeifa for his alleged role in that attack.
There was reportedly widespread jubilation, especially on social media with Malians praising the regional troops for finding a headway where the Western forces had failed.
The three countries are battling a wave of insurgency, with groups linked to both IS and Al-Qaeda killing thousands of people in the region over the last twelve months.
Last month, the ruling military regimes of the three countries said they would align to declare an all-out war against terrorists. They had earlier signed a mutual defence pact.
