Macron says French forces killed Islamic State leader in Sahara

French President Emmanuel Macron speaks during an awards ceremony gathering French athletes that competed in Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympic Games, at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France

REUTERS

PARIS, Sept 16 - French President Emmanuel Macron said on Wednesday that French military forces had killed Islamic militant Adnan Abu Walid al-Sahrawi, the leader of Islamic State in the Greater Sahara.

"It's another major success in our fight against terrorist groups in the Sahel," Macron said in a tweet, without disclosing the location of the operation.

Sahrawi was the historic leader of Islamic State in the Sahel region of West Africa and his group targeted U.S. soldiers in a deadly attack in 2017, Macron's office said. In August 2020, Sahrawi personally ordered the killing of six French charity workers and their Nigerien driver, it added.

Macron said in July that France would soon begin reshaping its force in the Sahel, where it has been on the front line of the fight against Islamist militants, and would ultimately halve its military presence.

With no apparent end in sight to France's operations and political turmoil especially in Mali, Paris had grown frustrated.

Reporting by Michel Rose; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman and Cynthia Osterman