| Battle of Tabankort | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Mali War | |||||
| |||||
| Belligerents | |||||
 Mali |
 Islamic State in the Greater Sahara | ||||
| Strength | |||||
| ~150 |
Unknown
| ||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||
|
43 killed (per Mali and Niger) 30 killed (per ISGS) 30 injured (per ISGS) |
17 killed (per Mali) 100 apprehended (per Mali) | ||||
| |||||
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.
Attack[]
While attempting to meet up with a contingent of Nigerien troops as part of Operation Tongo-Tongo, a reprisal operation for an ambush that left several American and Nigerian soldiers dead, a group of jihadists ambushed and overpowered a group of Malian soldiers.[1][2] The jihadists rode on seven vehicles, several motorcycles, and two tuk-tuks stolen from a local medical center, and posed as vaccination staff members to conduct the attack.[3][4]
Once the jihadists' disguises were exposed, a battle ensued between ISGS and the Malian troops.[5][6] Around one hundred fifty Malian soldiers fought, with thirteen vehicles.[6] They were forced to pull back, and the group of 850 Nigerien soldiers began a combing operation in the Tabankort valley, bringing back the bodies of slain Malian soldiers.[6]
Aftermath[]
ISGS claimed responsibility for the attack on November 20.[7][8] They also claimed that 30 Malian soldiers were killed, and thirty more were injured.[8]
The Malian army claimed on November 18 that the death toll was 24 soldiers killed and 29 injured, while seventeen jihadists were killed and over a hundred apprehended.[9] An AFP source then claimed the next day that the Malian death toll was over thirty killed.[9] The bodies of the 30 soldiers killed were interred during a military ceremony in Gao on November 20.[10] However, the bodies of thirteen other soldiers were discovered on November 21, bringing the death toll to 43 killed.[11]
References[]
- ↑ "Mali: 24 soldats tués lors d'une attaque au sud de Ménaka" (in fr). 2019-11-18. https://www.rfi.fr/fr/afrique/20191118-mali-24-soldats-17-terroristes-djiadistes-tues-nord-frontiere-niger.
- ↑ "Accrochage à la frontière Mali-Niger: 7 soldats maliens tués lors d'une opération conjointe" (in fr). https://lignesdedefense.blogs.ouest-france.fr/archive/2019/11/18/accrochage-a-la-frontiere-mali-niger-7-soldats-maliens-tues-20652.html.
- ↑ "Mali: les blessés sont la priorité de l’armée après la nouvelle attaque au Nord" (in fr). 2019-11-19. https://www.rfi.fr/fr/afrique/20191119-mali-blesses-sont-priorite-armee-apres-nouvelle-attaque-nord.
- ↑ Forestier, Patrick (2019-11-19). "Mali : une nouvelle attaque meurtrière qui interroge" (in fr). https://www.lepoint.fr/afrique/mali-une-nouvelle-attaque-meurtriere-qui-interroge-19-11-2019-2348441_3826.php.
- ↑ "Attaque jihadiste près de Menaka: le Niger aide le Mali à secourir ses soldats" (in fr). 2019-11-22. https://www.rfi.fr/fr/afrique/20191122-attaque-jihadiste-menaka-niger-aide-mali-retrouver-panser-soldats.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 "Attaque jihadiste près de Menaka: le Niger aide le Mali à secourir ses soldats" (in fr). 2019-11-22. https://www.rfi.fr/fr/afrique/20191122-attaque-jihadiste-menaka-niger-aide-mali-retrouver-panser-soldats.
- ↑ "https://twitter.com/SimNasr/status/1197208182826946560" (in en). https://twitter.com/SimNasr/status/1197208182826946560.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Nimaga, Moussa (November 21, 2019). "Mali : Tabankort : L’État Islamique revendique l’embuscade contre l’armée malienne". https://maliactu.net/mali-tabankort-letat-islamique-revendique-lembuscade-contre-larmee-malienne/.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 "Au Mali, une attaque jihadiste fait 24 morts dans les rangs de l'armée" (in fr). 2019-11-18. https://www.france24.com/fr/20191118-mali-niger-attaque-jihadiste-morts-armee-operation-barkhane.
- ↑ "Malijet 1ère Région Militaire (GAO) : Hommage aux militaires tombés à Tabankort Bamako Mali". http://malijet.com/la_societe_malienne_aujourdhui/actualite_de_la_nation_malienne/236078-1ere-region-militaire-gao-hommage-aux-militaires-tombes-a-tabank.html.
- ↑ "Au Mali, les corps de 13 soldats découverts après une attaque jihadiste" (in fr). 2019-11-22. https://www.france24.com/fr/20191122-attaque-mali-armee-attaque-jihadisme-niger.
The original article can be found at Battle of Tabankort and the edit history here.