The Battle of In-Delimane was a series of armed clashes in the area of In-Delimane in the

Gao Region The Gao Region ( Bambara: ߜߊߏ ߘߌߣߋߖߊ tr. Gao Dineja) is a region in northeastern Mali. The capital city is Gao. Geography The region is bordered to the north by Kidal Region, to the west by Tombouctou Region and Taoudénit Region, ...

Mali Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Ma ...

Timeline

On 12 January 2018, a suicide bomber blew himself up near a patrol of French soldiers in In-Delimane, wounding three soldiers. No group claimed responsibility, but

ISIL An Islamic state is a state that has a form of government based on Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a translation of the Arabic term ...

was suspected. About a month later on 21 February 2018, two French soldiers were killed, and a third wounded, after an IED exploded during their patrol. The

Al-Qaeda Al-Qaeda (; , ) is an Islamic extremist organization composed of Salafist jihadists. Its members are mostly composed of Arabs, but also include other peoples. Al-Qaeda has mounted attacks on civilian and military targets in various countr ...

affiliate JNIM claimed responsibility afterwards. Two days later on 23 February 2018, the Imghad Tuareg Self-Defense Group and Allies (GATIA) and the

Movement for the Salvation of Azawad The Movement for the Salvation of Azawad (french: Mouvement pour le salut de l'Azawad; abbreviated MSA) is a Tuareg political movement and armed group in Azawad, Mali. It was founded on 2 September 2016 by Moussa Ag Acharatoumane. History The ...

(MSA), in collaboration with France, launched an operation to capture or kill Abu Walid al-Sahrawi, the ISIL commander in Mali. Six jihadists were killed or captured while one vehicle originally belonging to the Nigerien military was recovered; however Sahrawi managed to evade capture. On 6 March 2018, a combined group of GATIA and MSA fighters fought ISIL forces in the Tinzouragan area, close to Delimane, resulting in the deaths of five jihadists, including one high level commander named Djibo Hamma. Ten other militants and vehicles were captured. On the same day, French forces fought with an unspecified group of jihadists, killing three of them.

References

In Delimane In-Delimane Battle of In-Delimane In-Delimane 2018 in Mali {{Mali-stub