A French serviceman was killed early on Friday in a clash with an armed militant group in Mali, the French presidential administration said in a statement.
France has a counter-terrorism force in Mali trying to contain Islamist militant groups.
Over 50 French soldiers have died in the region since Paris intervened in 2013 to drive back al Qaeda-linked militants that had seized cities and towns in northern Mali a year earlier.
Le ministère des Armées adresse ses plus vives condoléances à la famille, aux proches et aux frères d’armes du caporal-chef Maxime Blasco, mort pour la France en combattant des terroristes dans le cadre de l’opération Barkhane, le 24 septembre au Mali. #MPLF pic.twitter.com/s0Xc6Vcy9J
— Ministère des Armées (@Armees_Gouv) September 24, 2021
French forces earlier this month said they had killed the leader of the West African affiliate of Islamic State in a drone strike in northern Mali.
(REUTERS)
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