| Bombardment of Ametettai | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Mali War | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 France |  al-Mourabitoun | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Unknown | Omar Ould Hamaha † Abdelwaheb al-Harrachi † | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| None | 11 killed Several injured | ||||||
Between March 4 and 5, 2014, French forces conducted a bombing campaign in the Ametettai mountains of Kidal Region against al-Mourabitoun. The bombings killed Omar Ould Hamaha, a prominent jihadist commander, and several other militants.
During the initial days of Operation Serval, French forces launched raids against Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and other jihadists groups in their headquarters in the Ametettai mountains in rural Kidal Region. Chadian forces fought a major battle in the Ametettai mountains during the Battle of Ifoghas in February and March 2013. In January 2014, American-made Reaper drones bought by France were used in Mali for the first time. [1]
On March 4, French observation drones spotted a group of jihadists in the Ametettai valley. According to French minister of defense Jean-Yves Le Drian, around ten militants had rockets launchers and an arms cache. [1] French fighter jets then came back to Ametettai in the late afternoon of March 4, and launched airstrikes five hours later. [2] The jihadists shot back with a single rocket attack, but it missed. [2]
A Malian army official stated eleven jihadists were killed in the bombing. A few others were injured, and were able to escape. [3] [2] French intelligence stated Omar Ould Hamaha, a prominent jihadist commander, and Abdelwaheb al-Harrachi were killed in the attack. [4] [5] These statements were disputed by AQIM spokesperson Abou Assem al-Moujahir, who claimed Hamaha was still alive and that the French statements were unfounded. [6]
Omar Ould Hamaha was an Islamist militia commander from Northern Mali. During the 2012 Northern Mali conflict he became known alternatively as the spokesman and chief of staff for both Ansar Dine and Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MOJWA), militant groups associated with Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).
The Battle of Ifoghas, also known as the Battle of Tigharghâr or the Battle of the Ametettai, took place from 18 February to 31 March 2013, during the Northern Mali conflict. The French army and the Chadian army fought armed Salafist jihadist groups led by Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb and Ansar Dine. After being defeated in January in the Battle of Konna and the Battle of Diabaly, the jihadists abandoned Timbuktu and retreated into the Adrar Tigharghar, a mountain of the Adrar of Ifoghas in northeastern Mali, which has been their sanctuary for years. The French started quickly a pursuit, and they took control of the towns of Tessalit and Aguelhok and begun the operation Panther in the Tigharghar. The first clashes erupt on February 18 and are mainly concentrated in the Ametettai Valley. It is caught between two armored columns, one French to the west and another Chadian to the east, while the paratroopers manage to surprise the jihadists by attacking on foot from the north. The valley is taken on March 3 and jihadists begin to gradually abandon the Tigharghar. Excavation missions and some skirmishes, however, continue to take place the following days. The operations cease on March 31. The battle was a turning point in the war, as with the capture of the Tigharghar, the jihadists lose their main sanctuary in the Sahel as well as most of their military arsenal, taken from the Malian army or Libya.
The Battle of In Khalil took place on 22–23 February 2013 and was part of the first stage of the Mali War.
The Battle of Timbuktu occurred in Timbuktu, Mali, in March 2013, between Islamist groups and Mali government forces supported by France.
Ahmed al-Tilemsi, nom de guerre of Abderrahmane Ould El Amar was a Malian jihadist leader and drug trafficker who served as a founding member and senior figure of the Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO) and a senior figure and alleged emir of al-Mourabitoun.
The Battle of Talahandak took place on 3 June 2020 during the Mali War. It resulted in the death of Abdelmalek Droukdel, the leader of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).
An ongoing war and civil conflict between the Government of Burkina Faso and Islamist rebels began in August 2015 and has led to the displacement of over 2 million people and the deaths of at least 10,000 civilians and combatants.
The Mondoro attack took place on 4 March 2022, when al-Qaeda-linked jihadists attacked a Malian military base, causing heavy casualties.
On July 2, 2015, a MINUSMA convoy was ambushed by jihadists affiliated with Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb en route from Goundam to Timbuktu.
On January 5, 2015, militants from Katiba Macina and Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) overran Malian defenses and briefly captured the city of Nampalari, Mali.
Abdou Aïssa, nom de guerre Sultan Ould Bady, is a Malian jihadist and drug trafficker. He co-founded the Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MOJWA) with Hamada Ould Mohamed Kheirou and Ahmed al-Tilemsi, and founded Katibat Salahadin, a katiba within MOJWA that later reformed in the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara after Bady defected.
Mohamed Lemine Ould El Hassen, nom de guerre Abdallah al-Chinguetti, was a Mauritanian jihadist and commander of Katiba Al Furqan of the Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb.
Between October 26 and November 8, 2014, French forces of Operation Barkhane launched an offensive against jihadists from Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb and Ansar Dine in the area of Ametettai, rural Kidal Region. It was dubbed Operation Tudelle by French authorities.
Hamada Ag Hama, also known as Abdelkrim Taleb or Abdelkrim al-Targui was a Malian jihadist and emir of Katiba Al Ansar, a brigade in Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).
On July 5, 2011, clashes broke out between Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and Mauritanian forces in Bassikounou, Mauritania.
The Battle of Areich Hind, also known as the Battle of Raz el-Ma, took place between September 17 and 19, 2010, during the Islamist insurgency in the Sahel. Mauritanian forces launched an offensive against a group of AQIM jihadists in Malian territory on September 17.
On July 22, 2010, French and Mauritanian forces launched a raid on an Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) base in Tombouctou Region, Mali, in an attempt to rescue French hostage Michel Germaneau. The forces were able to destroy the base, but Germaneau was not rescued and later executed by AQIM.
On June 16, 2009, Malian forces clashed with jihadists from Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb in Garn-Akassa, Kidal Region, Mali.
On January 8, 2011, French and Nigerien commandos attempted to retrieve two French nationals taken hostage by AQIM militants in Niamey, Niger in the desert near Tabankort, Mali. Both hostages were killed during the botched rescue operation, along with three Nigerien soldiers and four kidnappers. The rescue operation's failure sparked controversy in France as it was reported that one of the hostages was killed by French gunfire.
Between October 9 and 10, 2014, jihadists from al-Mourabitoun were ambushed by French forces near Tchibarakaten, Niger while transporting supplies from Libya to Mali.
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