OREANDA-NEWS. The French military killed the leader of the jihadist group «Islamic State in the Greater Sahara». French President Emmanuel Macron wrote on Twitter on the night of Thursday, September 16, that Adnan Abu Walid al-Sahraoui was «neutralized» by French troops.

ISGS is credited with most of the attacks in the region between Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso. Recently, cases of attacks by militants of this and other terrorist groups on the civilian population in the region have become more frequent.

Currently, 5,100 French soldiers are stationed in the Sahel region, but by the beginning of 2022 it is planned to reduce their number by about half and end the military mission. On September 14, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian threatened to withdraw French troops from Mali if the military junta ruling in this West African country signs a cooperation agreement with the Russian private military company Wagner.

The French military is supporting the troops of the so-called «big five of the Sahel» — Mali, Mauritania, Burkina Faso, Niger and Chad — in the fight against extremist groups. Several hundred Bundeswehr soldiers are also stationed in Mali as part of the UN and EU missions. Since the spring of 2020, the European special Forces task force «Takuba» has been operating in the region.