French and Malian troops killed about 30 Islamist insurgents during a gun battle in a region near the border with Niger, where Islamic State is known to be active.
Soldiers from France’s Barkhane force and Malian troops were on a reconnaissance mission 90km south of Menaka when they encountered several dozen Islamist fighters, some on motorcycles.
West Africa’s arid Sahel region has seen a rise in violence by militant groups, some with links to al Qaeda and Islamic State, that is drawing an increasingly aggressive response from countries including France and the United States.
