Estimated read time: Less than a minute
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
BAMAKO, Mali (AP) - A French military spokesman says 11 jihadists have been killed and a French soldier was wounded during a military operation in northern Mali.
Remi Libessart, a spokesman for the French-led mission known as Operation Serval, said Friday that the fighting had taken place early Thursday north of Timbuktu.
At least 19 radical Islamic militants were killed in December as the French military seeks to flush them out of their desert hideouts.
Al-Qaida and other extremists seized control of northern Mali in 2012 and were ousted from power in the major towns by a French-led operation one year ago.
A defense agreement between France and the Malian government is due to be signed in coming days that could permit France to establish a military base in its former colony.
(Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
