At least 30 terrorists were killed and dozens of vehicles and weapons destroyed during joint operations between the French-led Takuba task force and Malian soldiers last week, the French Army Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.
During the main operation on Feb. 3, a column of fighters on motorbikes was spotted by a drone, the statement said.
The engagement of a Mirage 2000 patrol fighter jet in support of European and Malian forces deployed on the ground “led to the putting out of action of about twenty terrorists,” the statement said.
It added that a vehicle with dozens of kilograms of explosives, weapons and motorbikes, mostly used by the fighters in raids in the West Africa Sahel region, were destroyed.
The joint operations from Feb. 1 to Feb. 6 coincided with tensions in relations between Mali and France, and has forced Paris and other European allies to question their continued military presence in Mali.
