France claims to have killed killed senior al-Qaeda operative in Mali

After a series of attacks rocked France, the French forces have declared that they have killed a military leader of al Qaeda`s North Africa wing in an army operation in northeastern Mali on Friday.

Bah ag Moussa, also known asBamoussa Diarra, was a right-hand man of the leader of one of the most prominent Jihadi group ofMali calledJama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM). The leader, known asIyad Ag Ghali, has been held responsible for attacking soldiers and civilians in Mali and the neighbouring areas such asBurkina Faso.

"A historic figure of the jihadist movement in the Sahel, Bah ag Moussa is considered responsible for several attacks against Malian and international forces", Armed Forces Minister Florence Parly said on Friday in an official statement.

Moussa was o the US terrorism list. He has been killed by the French forces on Tuesday in an operation that saw the ground troops and helicopterscoordinate against the terror group leader. The operation was planned after a series of attacks by the terrorist group JNIM against the civilians and forces. In the series of operations, the French forces had killed dozens of Islamist fighters, in the last few weeks.

The French forces have nearly 5,100 soldiers across the terrorism-filled area. The French forces have hailed this mission as major success."This is a major success in the fight against terrorism," Parly said.

More details will be revealed soon.