| Battle of Abanguilou | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Mali War | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Movement for the Salvation of Azawad  France |  Islamic State in the Greater Sahara | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 3 killed, 2 wounded (per MSA) None | Total: ~18 killed 12 killed (per MSA) 6 killed (per France) | ||||||
| 6 civilians killed | |||||||
The battle of Abanguilou took place on December 19, 2018, between the Movement for the Salvation of Azawad (MSA) and their French allies against the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS).
On December 19, 2018, a nomadic camp in the village of Abanguilou, near Andéramboukane, was attacked by armed men, allegedly ISGS militants. The attackers executed six civilians, and looted the camp. [1] [2]
Following the attack on the nomadic camp, Tuareg fighters in the MSA set off in pursuit of the ISGS militants, who were fleeing towards the border with Niger. [1] [2] The MSA fighters caught up, and clashes broke out between the two groups.
That same day, a French MQ-9 drone flying above Niger spotted a group of men on eight motorcycles heading back towards the border with Mali. [3] [1] Once the group crossed the border, and was assessed by French officials as being the perpetrators of the Abanguilou killings, the militants were killed by a French airstrike. [4] French ground forces were then deployed. [1] The ground forces, when assessing the damage, discovered a Glock-19 pistol that belonged to Jeremiah W. Johnson, an American soldier killed in the Tongo Tongo ambush a year prior. [5]
The MSA stated in a press release that three fighters were killed in the clashes, and two were wounded. The group also stated a dozen ISGS fighters were killed. The French army stated six jihadists were killed and five motorcycles were destroyed. [2] [4] [3]
The Islamic State – Sahel Province (ISSP), formerly known as Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (IS-GS), is an Islamist militant group adhering to the ideology of Salafi Jihadism. IS-GS was formed on 15 May 2015 as the result of a split within the militant group Al-Mourabitoun. The rift was a reaction to the adherence of one of its leaders, Adnan Abu Walid al-Sahraoui, to the Islamic State. From March 2019 to 2022, IS-GS was formally part of the Islamic State – West Africa Province (ISWAP); when it was also called "ISWAP-Greater Sahara". In March 2022, IS declared the province autonomous, separating it from its West Africa Province and naming it Islamic State – Sahil Province (ISSP).
The 2017 Ayorou attack occurred on 21 October 2017 when armed militants from the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara attacked a Nigerien military outpost in the village of Ayorou in southwestern Niger, killing 13 gendarmes. Occurring just weeks after a similar attack in the area killed four American and four Nigerien troops, the attack was carried out by ISGS gunmen who crossed the porous border from Mali.
The Battle of Tabarde was fought over three days from 3 to 5 June 2018, between ISIL militants and a Tuareg coalition that consisted of the Imghad Tuareg Self-Defense Group and Allies (GATIA) and the Movement for the Salvation of Azawad (MSA).
An Islamist insurgency has been ongoing in the Sahel region of West Africa since the 2011 Arab Spring. In particular, the intensive conflict in the three countries of Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso has been referred to as the Sahel War.
The Battle of Talataye took place between 6 and 7 September 2022 during the Menaka offensives of the Mali War. During the battle, militants from Islamic State in the Greater Sahara stormed Talataye, Mali, looting and burning the town. The following day, ISGS abandoned Talataye.
The Battle of Andéramboukane occurred between 4 and 5 June 2022, during the Ménaka offensive of the Mali War. The pro-government militias Movement for the Salvation of Azawad (MSA) and Imghad Tuareg Self-Defense Group and Allies (GATIA) attempted to retake the Islamic State-held town of Andéramboukane but were unsuccessful.
The Mondoro attack took place on 4 March 2022, when al-Qaeda-linked jihadists attacked a Malian military base, causing heavy casualties.
On April 6, 2020, jihadist militants from the al-Qaeda linked Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM) attacked a secluded Malian military base in Bamba, killing dozens of Malian soldiers. A raid in retribution the following day killed JNIM leader Abu Yahya al-Jizari.
On August 8, 2021, jihadist militants from Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS) launched simultaneous attacks on four villages in central Mali, killing over fifty-one civilians.
On November 18, 2019, Malian troops were ambushed by the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara during a patrol of Tabankort, in Ménaka Cercle, Mali.
The Battle of Niaki was a confrontation between jihadists and French soldiers in the city of Niaki, taking place on November 12, 2020, during the Mali war and Operation Barkhane.
On January 15, 2019, militants from the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara attacked two villages in Ménaka, Mali, killing at least 40 people. The massacres were targeted against Tuaregs.
The Ménaka offensive was a series of offensives launched by the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara against the Malian Army, Tuareg self-defense groups including the Movement for the Salvation of Azawad (MSA) and Imghad Tuareg Self-Defense Group and Allies (GATIA), and the al-Qaeda-aligned Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin. The offensives took place in the Ménaka Cercle, in southeastern Mali.
On December 11 and 12, 2018, Islamic State in the Greater Sahara fighters attacked Daoussahak Tuareg refugee camps in the villages of Tinabaw, Tabangout and Tissalatatene, all in the Ménaka Cercle of Mali. Between 43 and 47 civilians were killed by ISGS.
The Talataye attack occurred on May 26, 2018, during the Mali War. Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (IS-GS) fighters attacked a festival in Talataye, Mali, killing several civilians and Movement for the Salvation of Azawad (MSA) fighters.
The battle of Akabar took place on April 1, 2018, between French and Malian forces aided by Tuareg rebels against Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin and the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara.
On April 26 and 27, 2018, militants from the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara attacked two refugee camps near Andéramboukane, Ménaka, Mali, killing forty-seven people, mostly Tuareg civilians.
On December 3, 2023, jihadists from the Islamic State – Sahil Province (ISSP) launched simultaneous attacks against Malian forces and allied Wagner Group mercenaries in Labbézanga, Gao Region, and against Tuareg militia groups in Ménaka Region.
On November 8, 2016 Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS) fighters attacked Nigerien forces in Bani-Bangou, Tillabéri Region, Niger.
Between May 31 and June 1, 2017, clashes broke out between Nigerien forces and the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS) near Abala, Niger. These clashes expanded to the Nigerien-Malian border near Bani-Bangou, and on June 1 the ISGS militants were confronted by French, Malian, and Tuareg militias when the militants fled towards Ménaka Region, Mali.
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