Chadian military forces operating in Mali claimed to have launched a successful counterterrorism raid against a jihadist base camp that killed top Algerian jihadist Mokhtar Belmokhtar. The death of Belmokhtar has not yet been confirmed by other sources.
The bomber killed only himself in an attempted attack on security forces in Gao.
“We in al Qaeda announce that we carried out the blessed commando operation,” Mokhtar Belmokhtar, the emir of the Those who sign with Blood Brigade, said in a video.
The ‘Those who Sign with Blood Brigade’ executed hostages but failed to destroy the facility.
Abdul Rahman al Nigeri is leader of the special operations group in Mokhtar Belmokhtar’s Those who Sign with Blood Brigade. He began his career in jihad with GSPC, and then joined al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb.
