French soldiers killed more than 30 Islamist militants linked to Al Qaeda and the Islamic State in separate operations in Mali on Thursday and today.
As reported by Reuters, France, which was once a colonial power in a large number of West African countries, has about 4,5 soldiers deployed in that region as part of the counter-terrorist unit "Operation Barkan".
The United Nations has a peacekeeping mission in Mali with about 13 members.
In the Gurma region of Mali, French soldiers killed around 20 Islamic militants and destroyed several of their vehicles, while in the Liptako region, which is a stronghold of the Islamic State, they killed another ten Islamist rebels.
According to the French army, drones, fighter jets and helicopters participated in the operations.
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