Ahmed al Tilemsi, a senior commander of the al Mourabitoun Islamist group, was killed by French forces in northern Mali. He was on the U.S. wanted list and had a $5 million reward for information leading to his arrest. He had taken part in the 2011 kidnapping of two French nationals in Niger and three aid workers in Algeria. Since a French offensive in 2013, France has kept roughly 3,200 troops in the Sahara-Sahel region to counter Islamist militants, and 200-400 special forces to hunt down leaders of Islamist groups.
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