Macron hails the killing of Daesh leader with $5m bounty on head
A DAESH leader with a $5million price tag on his head has been killed by French troops in West Africa, it was announced yesterday.
Adnan Abu Walid al-Sahrawi, in his late 40s, was behind an ambush in Niger which killed eight soldiers in 2017. And he admitted ‘personally ordering’ the killing of six French aid workers and their Nigerien guide and driver last year.
French president Emmanuel Macron tweeted: ‘Adnan Abou Walid al Sahraoui, leader of the terrorist group Islamic State in the Greater Sahara, was neutralised by French forces. This is another major success in our fight against terrorist groups in the Sahel.’ The Sahel is a vast area
of mainly desert land, where several terror groups operate.
There was no more detail given – but an Élysée Palace spokesman said al-Sahrawi ‘was definitely dead’.
In August, Mr Macron said he would pull troops out of the area after mounting French losses, but special forces and drones would continue looking for terrorists.
The president added yesterday: ‘The nation is thinking this evening of all its heroes who died for France in the Sahel. Their sacrifice is not in vain. With our African, European and American partners, we will continue this fight.’
In October 2019, the US offered ‘up to $5million’ for any information leading to the capture or killing of al-Sahrawi after the Moroccan-born terror leader claimed responsibility for an ambush in October 2017.
The attack killed four US special forces soldiers and four Nigerien troops, and severely wounded ten.