PARIS: French soldiers have killed one of the suspects in last year’s murder of six young French aid workers in Niger, the general staff said on Tuesday.
Daesh had claimed the killings last August of the six aid workers aged between 25 and 31 and their two local guides while they were visiting a nature reserve in the West African country.
The army identified the killed extremist as Soumana Boura, one of the bosses of Daesh in the Greater Sahara (EIGS).
General staff spokesman Col. Pascal Ianni told AFP that Boura had filmed the execution of the eight victims in August and overseen the publication of the footage.
Boura, who headed a group of dozens of fighters in western Niger, was killed by a French drone strike as he was riding his motorcycle, he said.
A French unit was on its way to secure the area and formally identify him, the army said.