Macron: "French Troops Kill Regional IS Leader in Africa's Sahara Desert"

French President Emmanuel Macron [Photo by Reuters]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Suhwan] French President Emmanuel Macron announced that French forces killed one of the leaders of the Islamic extremist terrorist organization IS in the Sahara Desert on the African continent.

On the 15th (local time), President Macron tweeted, "French forces have killed Adnan Abu Walid al-Sahrawi, one of IS's regional leaders in Africa."

He added, "The success of today's operation marks a significant achievement in the war against the terrorist organization."

President Macron emphasized, "Our nation remembers all the heroes who died for France in the Sahel region. Their sacrifice was not in vain. We will continue this fight together with our partners in Africa, Europe, and North America."

Al-Sahrawi was the leader of IS's regional organization operating in the Sahel region of West Africa and is known to have led an IS ambush operation in Niger, West Africa, in 2017 that killed four U.S. special forces soldiers.

Al-Sahrawi was also identified as the mastermind behind the killing of six French volunteers active in West Africa last year.

Earlier, President Macron announced in July his plan to reorganize the French forces stationed in the Sahel region and reduce the deployed troops by about half.

This is analyzed to have been influenced by growing public opposition within France to the deployment in Africa, as casualties among French forces have increased and related defense budgets have risen, despite no signs of the war on terror ending.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.