UK troops seize Daesh (ISIS) arms cache in Mali sofmag.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from sofmag.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Around 100 soldiers found AK47 rifles, hundreds of rounds of ammunition, camouflage clothing, radios, mobile phones and hundreds of litres of fuel during the operation near the border of Niger.
British peacekeepers seized AK47s, ammunition, fuel and radios hidden by a jihadist cell intimidating civilians, after conducting a search in a sandstorm.
British peackeepers pose with one of the AK47 rifles found (MoD Crown Copyright)
UK troops deployed to Mali as part of the UN’s peacekeeping mission have seized a cache of weapons hidden by suspected Daesh terrorists who had been threatening local communities.
The operation, which was the first of its kind by UN forces in Mali, is a clear demonstration of how British peacekeepers have been making an impact in the UN’s mission to protect civilians during their first six months in the country.
The British force launched the Mission-approved “cordon and search” operation in early May in a village close to the border with Niger, after receiving intelligence about violent extremists operating in the area. The extremists had been intimidating local communities, extorting money and assaulting people who refused to comply with their demands, meaning UK forces were able to respond to protect them under the UN’s peacekeeping mandate.