(CNN) – French forces shot down Adnan Abou Walid in the Sahara, leader of the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISIS-GS), French President Emmanuel Macron announced on Twitter on Thursday morning.
French Armed Forces Minister Florence Parly tweeted on Thursday that military and intelligence agents had contributed to a “long-term hunt” for the ISIS-GS leader, which she described as a “coup decisive “for the group.
“This is another great success in our fight against terrorist groups in the Sahel,” President Macron tweeted.
ISIS-GS was established in 2015 after Sahraoui split from the al-Murabitun group, associated with al Qaeda, another split group based in Africa.
In 2017, the Sahraoui was blamed for the ambush by U.S. forces in Niger that killed four U.S. soldiers.
The U.S. State Department designated ISIS-GS as a Foreign Terrorist Organization in 2018 and announced in 2019 a $ 5 million reward for information leading to the capture of Sahraoui.
He was responsible for “cowardly and particularly deadly” attacks on civilians and security forces in Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso, according to a statement from a French presidential spokesman.
In August 2020, Sahraoui “personally ordered” the murder of six French aid workers and their driver and guide, the statement added.
President Macron announced in June 2021 for the current French deployment in the Sahel region, Operation Barkhane, with a gradual transfer to a multilateral mission. This would imply a “profound transformation” of the French military presence in the Sahel, Macron said on June 10.
According to the French Ministry of Defense, as of this September, France has 5,100 troops deployed in five countries in the Sahel region: Chad, Mali, Niger, Mauritania and Burkina Faso.
The incoming international effort will be led by the Takuba Task Force, a European-led European military working group that advises, assists and accompanies the Mali Armed Forces in the Sahel, according to the French president. The French army will form the “backbone” of this force, complemented by special forces from European countries and partners in the region.