The French armed forces ministry said on Tuesday that its "Operation Barkhane" unit had killed Soumana Boura, a leading member of ISIS in Niger.
The French army said Boura had been killed by an airstrike that took place on December 20.
The man was wanted in connection with the killing of seven aid workers, mostly French citizens, and a leading guide in a Niger giraffe park in August 2020.
The ministry said Tuesday that, in cooperation with Nigerien authorities, operatives from Operation Barkhane located Boura in an ISIS sanctuary north of the town of Tillaberi, identifying his body following the operation.
France claims Boura was among the perpetrators of the attack that occurred Aug. 9, 2020, in Kouré Park, Niger.
The victims had been on a day of sightseeing Sunday when they were attacked just before noon, according to one of the aid groups they worked for, Paris-based NGO ACTED. An ambulance sent by the French military stationed in Niger found the bodies later in the day in their burned-out vehicle in the giraffe reserve, the group said.
