{"id":35168,"date":"2021-09-16T10:43:58","date_gmt":"2021-09-16T10:43:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2021\/09\/16\/france-says-leader-of-group-behind-2017-deaths-of-four-us-troops-in-niger-killed\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T06:51:45","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T06:51:45","slug":"france-says-leader-of-group-behind-2017-deaths-of-four-us-troops-in-niger-killed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/flashpoints\/2021\/09\/16\/france-says-leader-of-group-behind-2017-deaths-of-four-us-troops-in-niger-killed\/","title":{"rendered":"France says leader of group behind 2017 deaths of four US troops in Niger killed"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">BAMAKO, Mali (AP) \u2014 France\u2019s president announced the death of Islamic State in the Greater Sahara\u2019s leader late Wednesday, calling Adnan Abu Walid al-Sahrawi\u2019s killing \u201ca major success\u201d for the French military after more than eight years <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2018\/03\/06\/probe-finds-deadly-niger-mission-lacked-proper-approval\/\" target=\"_blank\">fighting extremists<\/a> in the Sahel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Al-Sahrawi had claimed responsibility for a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/flashpoints\/2019\/10\/04\/us-offering-5-million-bounty-for-attackers-responsible-for-deadly-niger-ambush-that-killed-4-soldiers\/\" target=\"_blank\">2017 attack in Niger that killed four U.S. military personnel and four people with Niger\u2019s military.<\/a> His group also has abducted foreigners in the Sahel and is believed to still be holding American Jeffrey Woodke, who was abducted from his home in Niger in 2016.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">French President Emmanuel Macron tweeted that al-Sahrawi \u201cwas neutralized by French forces\u201d but gave no further details. It was not announced where al-Sahrawi was killed, though the Islamic State group is active along the border between Mali and Niger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe nation is thinking tonight of all its heroes who died for France in the Sahel in the Serval and Barkhane operations, of the bereaved families, of all of its wounded,\u201d Macron tweeted. \u201cTheir sacrifice is not in vain.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Rumors of the militant leader\u2019s death had circulated for weeks in Mali, though authorities in the region had not confirmed it. It was not immediately possible to independently verify the claim or to know how the remains had been identified.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThis is a decisive blow against this terrorist group,\u201d French Defense Minister Florence Parly tweeted. \u201cOur fight continues.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1201\" height=\"628\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Screen-Shot-2018-11-15-at-11.47.32.png.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-45147\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Screen-Shot-2018-11-15-at-11.47.32.png.png 1201w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Screen-Shot-2018-11-15-at-11.47.32.png.png?resize=300,157 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Screen-Shot-2018-11-15-at-11.47.32.png.png?resize=768,402 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Screen-Shot-2018-11-15-at-11.47.32.png.png?resize=1024,535 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1201px) 100vw, 1201px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">FILE &#8211; These images provided by the U.S. Army show, from left, Staff Sgt. Bryan C. Black, 35, of Puyallup, Wash.; Staff Sgt. Jeremiah W. Johnson, 39, of Springboro, Ohio; Sgt. La David Johnson of Miami Gardens, Fla.; and Staff Sgt. Dustin M. Wright, 29, of Lyons, Ga. All four were killed in Niger, when a joint patrol of American and Niger forces was ambushed on Oct. 4, 2017, by militants believed linked to the Islamic State group. The Mauritanian Nouakchott News Agency reported Friday, Jan. 12, 2018 that Abu al-Walid al-Sahrawi with the self-professed IS affiliate claimed responsibility for the Oct. 4 ambush about 120 miles (200 kilometers) north of Niger&#8217;s capital, Niamey. (U.S. Army via AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/flashpoints\/2018\/01\/24\/africom-is-investigating-isis-claims-that-it-has-video-of-the-4-us-soldiers-killed-in-niger\/\" target=\"_blank\">Staff Sgt. Bryan Black, Staff Sgt. Dustin Wright, Staff Sgt. Jeremiah Johnson and Sgt. La David Johnson of the 3rd Special Forces Group <\/a>were killed in the Oct. 4, 2017 ambush.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The four soldiers had been conducting an advise and assist mission with Nigerien soldiers when they were ambushed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The extremist leader was born in the disputed territory of Western Sahara and later joined the Polisario Front. After spending time in Algeria, he made his way to northern Mali where he became an important figure in the group known as MUJAO that controlled the major northern town of Gao in 2012.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A French-led military operation the following year ousted Islamic extremists from power in Gao and other northern cities, though those elements later regrouped and again carried out attacks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Malian group MUJAO was loyal to the regional al-Qaida affiliate. But in 2015, al-Sahrawi released an audio message pledging allegiance to the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The French military has been fighting Islamic extremists in the Sahel region where France was once the colonial power since the 2013 intervention in northern Mali. It recently announced, though, that it would be reducing its military presence in the region, with plans to withdraw 2,000 troops by early next year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">News of al-Sahrawi\u2019s death comes as France\u2019s global fight against the Islamic State organization is making headlines in Paris. The key defendant in the 2015 Paris attacks trial said Wednesday that those coordinated killings were in retaliation for French airstrikes on the Islamic State group, calling the deaths of 130 innocent people \u201cnothing personal\u201d as he acknowledged his role for the first time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><i>Larson reported from Dakar, Senegal. Associated Press writer Angela Charlton in Paris contributed to this report.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Rumors of the militant leader\u2019s death had circulated for weeks in Mali, though authorities in the region had not confirmed 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