More than 60 Islamists were killed last night during airstrikes by French troops on the city of Gao in northern Mali, local sources and officials said. Islamist leaders threatened to take revenge by attacking the "heart of France".
"More than 60 Islamists were killed in the city of Gao and its surroundings. During the night, the Islamists who were hiding in the houses came out to collect the bodies of their comrades," said a resident of the city of Gao in a telephone conversation with Agence France-Presse.
He said that most of the Islamists were killed when a bomb fell on their military headquarters where they were having a meeting. Information about 60 dead Islamists was also confirmed by sources from the security services.
Commander-in-Chief of the French Air Force, Jean Pascal Breton, said that the first British troop transport planes will arrive in Mali today.
"The mission should start today from Evra base," Breton said. British C17 aircraft that can also transport armored vehicles will be sent to Mali.
London announced that it was sending logistical assistance at France's request.
French President Francois Hollande on Friday authorized airstrikes in Mali, after Islamists who control the north of the country launched an offensive southward and captured the city of Kona the previous day.
Today, the UN Security Council should hold a meeting where France will inform its partners about the situation in Mali and its military intervention in that country.
Islamists threaten to attack the "heart of France"
Islamists from Mali have threatened to attack the "heart of France" as their positions have been bombarded by French troops since Friday.
"France has attacked Islam. We will attack the heart of France. By Allah, we will attack the heart of France. Everywhere. In Bamako, in Africa and in Europe," Abu Dardar, a representative of the Movement for Jihad Unity in West Africa, told Agence France-Presse.
Today, the UN Security Council should hold a meeting where France will inform its partners about the situation in Mali and its military intervention in that country.
On Friday, French troops stopped the advance of the Islamists towards the central part of the country, and yesterday they bombarded their positions in the cities of Gao and Kidal.
The member countries of the Economic Community of West African States approved on Saturday the sending of their forces to Mali.
The Islamist rebels took advantage of the chaos created after the coup d'état in March last year and occupied the northern part of the country, while the army retreated to the south without a fight before the rebels.
A French commando captured in Somalia has died
A French soldier who Islamic insurgents, members of the Shabaab group, in Somalia said was wounded and captured during an operation by French commandos on Saturday, died today, a spokesman for the insurgents said.
"A French soldier from the French invasion troops in Somalia succumbed to his wounds," said rebel spokesman Abdulaziz Abu Musab.
A French military operation launched on Friday evening to free a French hostage held by the Islamist group Shabaab since July 2009 was unsuccessful. Another French soldier was killed, and the fate of the hostage they planned to free is unknown.
Earlier today, the US said it provided "limited technical support" to French forces during a major bombing raid in Somalia on Saturday to free a secret service agent who has been held by Islamists for three and a half years.
"US forces provided limited technical support to French forces during that operation, but did not directly participate in the attack on the camp where the French citizen was held captive," US President Barack Obama said in a statement to the US Congress.
The fate of the French hostage, identified as Danny Alex, which is likely a pseudonym, is unknown. According to French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, "everything indicates that (secret agent) Danny Alex was killed by his executioners" Shabab, "a very radical group linked to Al Qaeda".
The Islamist group Shabab denied this statement of the French minister, claiming that Danny Alex is alive and well and that he was moved in time out of the reach of the French commandos.
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