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Battle of Elakla
Part of Mali War
Date February 21, 2019 Location Near Elakla, Mali Result French victory
Belligerents
France	Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin
Commanders and leaders
Unknown	Djamel Okacha † Seifallah Ben Hassine †
Casualties and losses
None	11 killed Several prisoners

The battle of Elakla took place on February 21, 2019, between French forces of Operation Barkhane and al-Qaeda aligned Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin.

Prelude

After the creation of Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin in 2017, a jihadist group that was the result of five Sahelian jihadist groups merging, French forces in Operation Barkhane aided the Malian government's efforts to fight the group. Djamel Okacha was a founding member of JNIM and the group's second-in-command.

Battle

Barkhane forces launched an operation on the afternoon of February 21 after spotting three vehicles deemed suspicious moving throughout Tombouctou Region. The French army launched drone strikes on the vehicles, before sending in ground forces, five helicopters, and an MQ-9 drone. The aircraft took off at 1:13pm from Bou Djeheba, north of Timbuktu. An hour later, one pick-up was spotted by the drones, before being joined by two more vehicles. After a chase, two pick-ups stopped and surrendered after being shot at. The ground forces chased the third truck, but were only able to catch it after a second group of commandos intervened as it tried to blend into civilians. As the drivers felt trapped, they got out and shot at the French commandos, but were killed.

Aftermath

The French government claimed 11 fighters were put out of action, including Djamel Okacha and his two main deputies. Seifallah Ben Hassine, nom de guerre Abou Iyadh and leader of the Tunisian jihadist group Ansar al-Sharia, was also killed in the battle. Okacha's death was confirmed by Sedane Ag Hita, another top member of JNIM, and later JNIM leader and founder Abdelmalek Droukdel.

References

1. "Comment les forces spéciales françaises ont éliminé le chef d'al-Qaïda pour le Sahara". 14 June 2019.
2. ^ AFP (2023-10-02). "L'un des principaux chefs djihadistes au Sahel, Djamel Okacha, tué au Mali". La Libre.be (in French). Retrieved 2023-10-02.
3. ^ Lagneau, Laurent (2019-06-14). "Comment les forces spéciales françaises ont éliminé le chef d'al-Qaïda pour le Sahara". Zone Militaire (in French). Retrieved 2023-10-02.
4. "Mali: Paris annonce l'élimination du chef jihadiste d'Aqmi Yahia Abou Hamman". RFI (in French). 2019-02-22. Retrieved 2023-10-02.
5. "Mort d'Abou Iyadh, figure du djihadisme tunisien, l'un des derniers à avoir fréquenté Ben Laden". Le Monde.fr (in French). 2020-03-04. Retrieved 2023-10-02.
6. "Mali: Sidan Ag Hitta, chef terroriste, s'exprime dans un message". RFI (in French). 2019-03-11. Retrieved 2023-10-02.
7. "Le décès du leader djihadiste tunisien Abou Iyadh confirmé par AQMI – Jeune Afrique". JeuneAfrique.com (in French). 2020-03-04. Retrieved 2023-10-02.

• Battles of the Mali War in 2019
• Tombouctou Region in the Mali War
• Battles of the Mali War involving France
• Battles involving Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin
• 2019 airstrikes
• Drone strikes conducted by France
• February 2019 events in Mali