Battle of Elakla

Battle of Elakla
Part of Mali War
DateFebruary 21, 2019
Location
Near Elakla, Mali
Result French victory
Belligerents
France Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin
Commanders and leaders
Unknown Djamel Okacha  †
Seifallah Ben Hassine  †
Casualties and losses
None 11 killed
Several prisoners[1]

The battle of Elakla took place on February 21, 2019, between French forces of Operation Barkhane and al-Qaeda aligned Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin.

Prelude

After the creation of Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin in 2017, a jihadist group that was the result of five Sahelian jihadist groups merging, French forces in Operation Barkhane aided the Malian government's efforts to fight the group. Djamel Okacha was a founding member of JNIM and the group's second-in-command.[2]

Battle

Barkhane forces launched an operation on the afternoon of February 21 after spotting three vehicles deemed suspicious moving throughout Tombouctou Region.[2] The French army launched drone strikes on the vehicles, before sending in ground forces, five helicopters, and an MQ-9 drone.[2] The aircraft took off at 1:13pm from Bou Djeheba, north of Timbuktu.[3] An hour later, one pick-up was spotted by the drones, before being joined by two more vehicles.[3] After a chase, two pick-ups stopped and surrendered after being shot at.[3] The ground forces chased the third truck, but were only able to catch it after a second group of commandos intervened as it tried to blend into civilians.[3] As the drivers felt trapped, they got out and shot at the French commandos, but were killed.[2]

Aftermath

The French government claimed 11 fighters were put out of action, including Djamel Okacha and his two main deputies.[4] Seifallah Ben Hassine, nom de guerre Abou Iyadh and leader of the Tunisian jihadist group Ansar al-Sharia, was also killed in the battle.[5] Okacha's death was confirmed by Sedane Ag Hita, another top member of JNIM, and later JNIM leader and founder Abdelmalek Droukdel.[6][7]

References

  1. ^ "Comment les forces spéciales françaises ont éliminé le chef d'al-Qaïda pour le Sahara". 14 June 2019.
  2. ^ a b c d AFP (2023-10-02). "L'un des principaux chefs djihadistes au Sahel, Djamel Okacha, tué au Mali". La Libre.be (in French). Retrieved 2023-10-02.
  3. ^ a b c d Lagneau, Laurent (2019-06-14). "Comment les forces spéciales françaises ont éliminé le chef d'al-Qaïda pour le Sahara". Zone Militaire (in French). Retrieved 2023-10-02.
  4. ^ "Mali: Paris annonce l'élimination du chef jihadiste d'Aqmi Yahia Abou Hamman". RFI (in French). 2019-02-22. Retrieved 2023-10-02.
  5. ^ "Mort d'Abou Iyadh, figure du djihadisme tunisien, l'un des derniers à avoir fréquenté Ben Laden". Le Monde.fr (in French). 2020-03-04. Retrieved 2023-10-02.
  6. ^ "Mali: Sidan Ag Hitta, chef terroriste, s'exprime dans un message". RFI (in French). 2019-03-11. Retrieved 2023-10-02.
  7. ^ "Le décès du leader djihadiste tunisien Abou Iyadh confirmé par AQMI – Jeune Afrique". JeuneAfrique.com (in French). 2020-03-04. Retrieved 2023-10-02.