France’s military chief of staff refuted claims made by Islamic State that it was responsible for the deadly Mali helicopter crash.
According to the military chief, an ambush by Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) did not cause a collision between two French army helicopters which left 13 soldiers dead in Mali.
The Islamic State through its propaganda media channels claimed that its ISWAP fighters were responsible for Monday’s collision between a Tigre attack helicopter and a Cougar military transport helicopter, the heaviest single loss for the French army in nearly four decades.
ISIS said ISWAP fighters ambushed a French convoy near Indelimane village, in the Menaka area, and opened fire on one of the helicopters that arrived in support. After staggering in flight, it then crashed with another helicopter, killing 13 soldiers, ISIS statement claimed.
France’s military chief of staff rubbished the claims and said there was no attack by the ISWAP fighters and that the army was pursuing near the borders with Burkina Faso and Niger. “There was no withdrawal of an aircraft in the face of fire from the jihadists,” he added.
The general said the helicopter black boxes were being analysed for details of exactly what happened.
The November 25 helicopter collision brought to 41 the number of French troops killed in the Sahel region since France intervened against jihadist groups in northern Mali in 2013. The soldiers were with France’s Operation Barkhane counter-terrorism mission in the Sahel.
