DAKAR, Senegal (AP) - Mali’s government says several extremists have been killed after the army launched a large-scale offensive in parts of the central Mopti region.
The government said Monday that soldiers have found identity cards of several nationalities. It said the operation is being carried out with the support of Mali’s air force.
The offensive comes after about 100 soldiers have been killed by extremists in the span of a month. It represents one of the army’s heaviest losses since a 2013 French-led military intervention to oust the extremists from power in the major towns of northern Mali.
The operation coincides with the launch of an operation led by French anti-extremist forces alongside local troops in the border region of Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso.
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