BAMAKO, Mali (AP) — A senior Islamic State group commander wanted in connection with the deaths of U.S. forces in Niger was killed in an operation by Malian state forces, the country’s army said. Abu Huzeifa, known by the alias Higgo, was a commander in the group known as the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara. The State Department had announced a reward of up to $5 million for information about him. Huzeifa is believed to have helped carry out an attack in 2017 on U.S. and Nigerien forces in Tongo Tongo, Niger, which resulting in the deaths of four Americans and four Nigerien soldiers. Following the attack, the U.S. military scaled back operations with local partners in the Sahel. “The identification and clues gathered confirm the death of Abu Huzeifa dit Higgo, a foreign terrorist of great renown,” the Malian army said in a statement late Monday. |
Washington moves seen as risking instabilityVisa waiver to boost tourism in MalaysiaPhotovoltaic power generation boosts green development in rural areasCPC Central Committee Holds Consultative Meeting on Reform Plan of Party, State InstitutionsIn pics: French Open Badminton tournamentXi Story: Fostering and Mentoring Young OfficialsFears mount that Italy's other leaning tower may fallXi Holds Talks with Iranian President, Eyeing New Progress in TiesBooks on Study, Practice of Xi Jinping's Economic Thought PublishedVisa waiver to boost tourism in Malaysia