JAKARTA - At least 30 radical Islamic militants were killed and dozens of vehicles and weapons destroyed, during a joint operation between the French-led Task Force (Satgas) Takuba and the Malian army last week, the French Army Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.
During the main operation on February 3, a group of fighters on motorbikes was spotted by a drone, the statement said.
The involvement of Mirage 2000 patrol fighter jets in support of ground-deployed European and Malian troops, left about twenty terrorists dead, the statement said.
The statement also said vehicles with tens of kilograms of explosives, weapons and motorbikes, mostly used by fighters in attacks in West Africa's Sahel region, were also destroyed.
The joint operation, which ran from February 1 to February 6 to coincide with tensions in relations between Mali and France, has forced Paris and other European allies to question their continued military presence in Mali.
European allies will decide next week how to continue their fight against Islamist militants in Mali, describing the situation as "untenable".
In a verbal attack on Monday, Choguel Maiga, who was appointed interim prime minister following last year's coup, accused the French military of deliberately dividing the West African country, as well as of espionage during the war against Islamist militants.
The French Army Ministry said in a statement that operations in the three border areas of Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso demonstrate the high level of cooperation and effectiveness of the combat partnership between the Malian army and a European task force including Estonian special forces.
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