Malian army kills 34 terrorists in special operation

Bamako, Feb 9 (IANS) Thirty-four terrorists were killed in a special operation launched against the GAT (Armed Terrorist Groups) during the night of February 6-7 in the Korientze area in the Mopti region of central Mali, the General Staff of the Malian Armed Forces said in a statement.

According to the statement released on Wednesday, the operation also resulted in the confiscation of large quantities of arms and ammunition, including AK-47 rifles, and anti-tank rocket launchers, Xinhua news agency reported.

“This operation is the result of a joint effort by the Malian army and the Ministry of Defence. The operation is the result of a series of information gathering and analysis on the chain of command of terrorist groups active in the area,” the General Staff of the Armed Forces said.

“The professionalism of the Malian Armed Forces (FAMAs) in this long period of intelligence accuracy, as well as the speed and surprise of the action, reduced collateral damage to zero,” said the same source, adding the FAMAs suffered no casualties or injuries in this operation.

Since 2012, Mali has been engulfed in a deep multi-faceted crisis at the security, political and economic levels. Independence insurgencies, jihadist incursions and inter-communal violence have left thousands of people dead and hundreds of thousands more displaced in the West African nation.

–IANS

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