President Emmanuel Macron declared early on Thursday that Adnan Abou Walid al-Sahraoui, the head of the jihadist group Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS), had been killed by the French army (16 September).

"This is another major success in our fight against terrorist groups in the Sahel," Macron said on Twitter.

As part of its policy to target leaders and executives of jihadist organizations, the French administration has already reported the murder or capture of numerous high-ranking ISGS executives by the French task force Barkhane and its partners earlier this summer.

ISGS's director "A decisive blow against this terrorist group has been delivered by the Barkhane force," France's Minister of the Armed Forces Florence Parly tweeted. Our fight goes on ".

ISGS, founded by Adnan Abou Walid al-Sahraoui in 2015, was classified as a "priority enemy" in the Sahel during a summit in January 2020 in Pau (southwest France). It is primarily blamed for most jihadist assaults against military and civilians in the "three borders" region of Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso, where the jihadist group Jama'a Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin', associated with Al Qaeda, is also particularly active.