Battle of Timetrine
Battle of Timetrine | |||||||
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Part of Northern Mali conflict | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
France | Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Mohamed Lemine Ould El-Hassen † | |||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
none | ~15 killed |
- v
- t
- e
Tuareg rebellion (2012):
- 1st Ménaka
- 1st Aguelhok
- Tin-Hama
- In Emsal
- 1st Andéramboukane
- 1st Tessalit
- 1st Niafunké
- Tinzaouaten
- Tinsalane
- 1st Goumakoura
- 1st Tessit
- Sudere
- 1st Kidal
- 1st Timbuktu
- 1st Gao
- 1st In-Delimane
- Tagarangabotte
- 2nd Ménaka
- Khalil
- In Arab
Foreign intervention:
- Operation Serval
- AFISMA
- Chadian military intervention
- EUTM
- MINUSMA
- Konna
- 2nd Gao
- Diabaly
- 3rd Gao
- 4th Gao
- Ifoghas
- Panther
- 5th Gao
- In Khalil
- Timetrine
- 1st Kidal attack
- Imenas
- Tin Keraten
- Tigharghâr
- 1st Djebok
- 2nd Timbuktu
- 6th Gao
- 3rd Timbuktu
- 2nd Kidal attack
- 1st Ber
- Hamakouladji
- 1st Anéfis
- 2nd Anéfis
- Fooïta
- Douaya
- 2nd Tessalit
- Amazragane
- 1st Araouane
- 3rd Kidal attack
2014
- Kondaoui
- Tamkoutat
- 1st Ametettai
- Dayet
- Inabohane and Ebahlal
- 2nd Kidal
- 2nd Aguelhok
- 3rd Anéfis
- 1st Tabankort
- 2nd Indelimane
- 2nd Ametettai
- N'Tillit
- 2nd Tabankort
2015
- 1st Nampala
- Ténenkou
- 3rd Tabankort
- Tabrichat
- Bamako restaurant
- 4th Kidal attack
- 1st Léré
- Tin Telout
- Nara
- Takoumbaout
- Sama Forest
- 1st Gourma-Rharous
- Sévaré hotel
- 4th Anéfis
- Tiébanda
- Bamako hotel
- 5th Kidal attack
- 1st Talahandak
2016
2017
- 6th Gao
- 1st Boulikessi
- 2nd Gourma-Rharous
- Foulsaré Forest
- 1st Dogofry
- 1st Serma Forest
- Bintagoungou
- Kangaba
- Inkadogotane
- 2nd Djebok
- Takellote
- 4th Timbuktu
- Tin Biden
- 3rd Indelimane
2018
- 4th In-Delimane
- Youwarou
- Soumpi
- Inaghalawass
- 2nd Araouane
- Akabar
- 5th Timbuktu
- Aklaz and Awkassa
- 1st Talataye
- Tabarde
- 1st Boni
- Inabelbel
- Soumouni
- 2nd Dogofry
- Ndaki
- 2nd Ber
- Farimake
- Tinabaw and Tabangout-Tissalatatene
- Abanguilou
2019
- Koulogon
- 2nd Serma Forest
- Taghatert and West Inekar
- 4th Aguelhok
- Elakla
- Dialloubé
- Diankabou
- 1st Dioura
- Ogossagou
- Tiésaba-Bourgou
- Guiré
- Sobane Da
- Gangafani and Yoro
- Fafa
- 2nd Boulikessi
- 5th In-Delimane
- 4th Tabankort
- 3rd Ménaka
- Wagadou Forest
2020
- Dioungani
- Sokolo
- 1st Tarkint
- 1st Bamba
- 2nd Talahandak
- Bouka Weré
- Bankass
- Coup
- 1st Farabougou
- Sokoura
- 3rd Boulikessi
- Tadamakat
- Niaki
2021
- Wedding airstrike
- Boulikessi and Mondoro
- 2nd Boni
- 2nd Tessit
- 5th Aguelhok
- Coup
- 2nd Tarkint
- Karou and Ouatagouna
- Dangarous Forest
- Nokara
- Bodio
- Mopti
2022
- Archam
- Danguèrè Wotoro
- Mondoro
- Ménaka
- 2nd Andéramboukane
- 3rd Tessit
- 2nd Talataye
- Tadjalalt and Haroum
- Moura
- Hombori
- Mopti Region
- Diallassagou
- Bandiagara
2023
- Markacoungo
- Diafarabé and Koumara
- 5th Timbuktu
- 3rd Ber
- Tombouctou and Bamba
- Bourem
- 2nd Léré
- 2nd Dioura
- 2nd Bamba
- Kidal Region
- 4th Kidal
- 2nd Niafunké
- Labbezanga
- 2nd Farabougou
The Battle of Timetrine was a battle between French forces and al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) militants in Timetrine, in Tessalit.
Background
On February 22, 2013, the Directorate-General for External Security (DGSE) caught and intercepted some jihadist telephone calls that hinted that one of the French hostages captured by AQIM managed to escape his captors in the Timetrine, a desert and mountainous region, located west of the valley of Tilemsi which separates it of the Adrar of the Ifoghas. On the night of February 22–23, the French Special Forces launched Operation Avrid from Tessalit with naval commandos, and a group of the Air Parachute Commando No. 10 (CPA-10), but the first night searches were unsuccessful. The next night, a Tiger helicopter spotted a group of a dozen jihadists within two pickups. The Tiger opened fire but its machine gun jammed and it and the helicopter retreated. Around 5 a.m, the Islamists abandoned their camp, but they continued to be monitored by a drone, but video transmission was temporarily interrupted because of a power failure in Niamey.[1]
The battle
Finally, one of the vehicles was again located at a stop later in the night. At dawn, the French forces deployed two Puma helicopters which deposited about thirty soldiers of the 1st Marine Infantry Parachute Regiment. The soldiers were dropped about 2–5 miles from the jihadists. The French then moved towards the AQIM camp supported by a Tiger helicopter, an Atlantic-2 aircraft, and an Harfang drone. But AQIM fighters covered in blankets spotted the French and opened fire on them, without inflicting any damage due to poor sight caused by darkness. The French, equipped with night vision, were able to accurately return fire. Subsequently, two and a half kilometers further north, the second group of jihadists also engages in the combat. In total, about fifteen Islamists took part in the confrontation. For its part, the Tiger opened fire and killed several AQIM. The Tiger was narrowly missed by a rocket of an RPG-7 fired by the fighters of the second group, whose fighters were in turn shot by the riposte of the Tiger. The parachutists then progressed to a rocky hill that overlooked the area and seized three vehicles abandoned by the jihadists. The latter was positioned at the foot of the rocky peak and opened fire on the French as they arrived one kilometer from them. A sniper duel began and continued for several hours. Finally, the paratroopers received reinforcements, and then launched the final assault on the mound. The last jihadists tried to throw themselves on the soldiers in a final kamikaze attack, but they were each time eliminated before being able to detonate their explosive belts. At the end of the fight, all the jihadists were killed. The French soldiers then searched the vehicles and corpses of the AQIM fighters, recognizing a commander among them, Mohamed Lemine Ould El-Hassen, one of the four brigades of AQIM. On June 16, 2013, AQIM officially confirmed the death of Mohamed Lemine Ould El-Hassen at the same time as that of Abdelhamid Abou Zeid. The statement does not specify the date, nor the place of his death, just stated that he was killed during "the last engagements with enemy forces in northern Mali ".[2][3]
References