battle of Elakla
{{Short description|2019 battle of the Mali War}}
{{notability|Events|date=October 2023}}
{{Infobox military conflict
| conflict = Battle of Elakla
| partof = Mali War
| date = February 21, 2019
| result = French victory
| combatant1 = {{flagdeco|France}} France
| combatant2 = {{flagdeco|Islamic State}} Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin
| commander1 = Unknown
| commander2 = Djamel Okacha{{KIA}}
Seifallah Ben Hassine{{KIA}}
| casualties1 = None
| casualties2 = 11 killed
Several prisoners{{cite web | url=https://www.opex360.com/2019/06/14/comment-les-forces-speciales-francaises-ont-elimine-le-chef-dal-qaida-pour-le-sahara/ | title=Comment les forces spéciales françaises ont éliminé le chef d'al-Qaïda pour le Sahara | date=14 June 2019 }}
}}
{{Campaignbox Mali War}}
The battle of Elakla took place on February 21, 2019, between French forces of Operation Barkhane and al-Qaeda aligned Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin.
Prelude
After the creation of Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin in 2017, a jihadist group that was the result of five Sahelian jihadist groups merging, French forces in Operation Barkhane aided the Malian government's efforts to fight the group. Djamel Okacha was a founding member of JNIM and the group's second-in-command.{{Cite web |last=AFP |date=2023-10-02 |title=L'un des principaux chefs djihadistes au Sahel, Djamel Okacha, tué au Mali |url=https://www.lalibre.be/international/2019/02/22/lun-des-principaux-chefs-djihadistes-au-sahel-djamel-okacha-tue-au-mali-W7CUSI5DXVDVVB2YLJNMODQ7RE/ |access-date=2023-10-02 |website=La Libre.be |language=fr}}
Battle
Barkhane forces launched an operation on the afternoon of February 21 after spotting three vehicles deemed suspicious moving throughout Tombouctou Region. The French army launched drone strikes on the vehicles, before sending in ground forces, five helicopters, and an MQ-9 drone. The aircraft took off at 1:13pm from Bou Djeheba, north of Timbuktu.{{Cite web |last=Lagneau |first=Laurent |date=2019-06-14 |title=Comment les forces spéciales françaises ont éliminé le chef d'al-Qaïda pour le Sahara |url=https://www.opex360.com/2019/06/14/comment-les-forces-speciales-francaises-ont-elimine-le-chef-dal-qaida-pour-le-sahara/ |access-date=2023-10-02 |website=Zone Militaire |language=fr-FR}} An hour later, one pick-up was spotted by the drones, before being joined by two more vehicles. After a chase, two pick-ups stopped and surrendered after being shot at. The ground forces chased the third truck, but were only able to catch it after a second group of commandos intervened as it tried to blend into civilians. As the drivers felt trapped, they got out and shot at the French commandos, but were killed.
Aftermath
The French government claimed 11 fighters were put out of action, including Djamel Okacha and his two main deputies.{{Cite web |date=2019-02-22 |title=Mali: Paris annonce l'élimination du chef jihadiste d'Aqmi Yahia Abou Hamman |url=https://www.rfi.fr/fr/afrique/20190222-mali-france-annonce-elimination-chef-jihadiste-aqmi-okacha-yahia-abou-hamman |access-date=2023-10-02 |website=RFI |language=fr}} Seifallah Ben Hassine, nom de guerre Abou Iyadh and leader of the Tunisian jihadist group Ansar al-Sharia, was also killed in the battle.{{Cite news |date=2020-03-04 |title=Mort d'Abou Iyadh, figure du djihadisme tunisien, l'un des derniers à avoir fréquenté Ben Laden |language=fr |work=Le Monde.fr |url=https://www.lemonde.fr/afrique/article/2020/03/04/mort-d-abou-iyadh-figure-du-djihadisme-tunisien-l-un-des-derniers-a-avoir-frequente-ben-laden_6031799_3212.html |access-date=2023-10-02}} Okacha's death was confirmed by Sedane Ag Hita, another top member of JNIM, and later JNIM leader and founder Abdelmalek Droukdel.{{Cite web |date=2019-03-11 |title=Mali: Sidan Ag Hitta, chef terroriste, s'exprime dans un message |url=https://www.rfi.fr/fr/afrique/20190311-mali-sidan-ag-hitta-chef-terroriste-s-exprime-message |access-date=2023-10-02 |website=RFI |language=fr}}{{Cite web |date=2020-03-04 |title=Le décès du leader djihadiste tunisien Abou Iyadh confirmé par AQMI – Jeune Afrique |url=https://www.jeuneafrique.com/905758/politique/le-deces-du-leader-djihadiste-tunisien-abou-iyadh-confirme-par-aqmi/ |access-date=2023-10-02 |website=JeuneAfrique.com |language=fr-FR}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{coord missing|Mali}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Elakla 2019}}
Category:Battles of the Mali War in 2019
Category:Tombouctou Region in the Mali War
Category:Battles of the Mali War involving France
Category:Battles involving Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin