• Abu Huzeifa, a senior Islamic State commander, was killed in collaboration with troops from Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger.
• Huzeifa was linked to high-profile raids in the Sahel region.
• Jihadist fighters have led to the deaths of four American soldiers and numerous troops from Niger in a 2017 attack.

Troops from Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, working in collaboration, have killed Abu Huzeifa, a senior Islamic State commander with a $5 million US bounty on his head, according to a private TV channel report in Mali. Huzeifa had been linked to several high-profile raids in the Sahel region.

Jihadist fighters, relentlessly attacking Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, have led to the deaths of four American soldiers and numerous troops from Niger in a 2017 attack.

All three countries, under military rule, are forging closer ties with Russia while severing connections with Western allies, including the US.

They have welcomed Russian military assistance while compelling troops from other countries to depart.

The report on Mali described Abu Huzeifa, also known as Higgo, as a Moroccan national and a commander in IS’s self-styled Sahel Province.

It reported that he was killed on Sunday in an operation in the northern town of Indolamine in the Menaka region, describing it as “a victory against a bane of evil”.

The US government stated that Hufeiza was wanted in connection with an attack on a US Special Forces team in Niger in 2017, which resulted in the deaths of four American and four Nigerien soldiers.

IS later claimed responsibility for the attack.

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