Battle of the Tibeggatine Valley, February 18–20 On February 18, the French army launched Operation Panther IV. The objective was to find the forces of AQIM and Ansar Dine, as the army had knowledge that jihadists were present in the Tigharghâr but did not know what their defense system and the areas they intend to protect as a priority. The operation begins with a reconnaissance mission conducted by GTIA 4 on In Taghlit, a village used by jihadists to stock up, in the Tibeggatine Valley, west of the Ametettai Valley. The column was made up of soldiers from 1st RIMa, GCP from 2nd REP and 17th RGP, artillerymen from 35th RAP and some Tuareg guides from the Malian army, about 150 men. The French entered the village of In Taghlit in the morning without encountering resistance. They found only a few unarmed men who all say that the jihadists had fled for a dozen days. The paratroopers then go to a nearby wadi and discover a first abandoned logistic depot. They unearth trucks filled with shells, a ton of food, telephones, an engine, gas drums and a large generator. In the afternoon, the French pushed their recognition to the village of Tabankort and camped there to spend the night. The next morning, they divided into two groups. The first, consisting of two platoons of porpoises goes north on the village of Abancko where intelligence suspects the presence of an ammunition depot. The soldiers meet an old man on the spot who guides them to a stockpile of shells that the jihadists had taken over the Malian army after the
Battle of Tessalit. The second group headed for the area called the "Garage" bombed by aviation on February 2. Coming from the west, the French stop in front of two rocky mounds, about forty meters high, between which a vehicular passage runs eastward. Veteran officers who fought in Afghanistan and Tuareg guides suspect an ambush and the column is moving cautiously. Around 9 am, the leading vehicles were attacked by a jihadists ambush at 300 meters. A first group of a dozen fighters is located in a green zone a little further north. The soldiers retreat, take cover and half an hour later the Mirage 2000 D intervene and destroy a machine gun nest. The three AMX-10 RC tanks then take control of the neck between the two mounds and open fire with their 105 mm guns. Despite the intensity of the fire, the jihadists do not hesitate to move short in front of the tanks, they send some rockets with RPG-7, but the range is too fair. As for the tanks, they fire with thirty explosive shells. On the left, the paratroopers of the 17th RGP are in turn attacked by a group posted about fifty meters. Returning from Abancko, the porpoises of 1st RIMa join the fight from the north. Then, at 10:45, a Mirage drops a GBU on the counterpoise. In the south, the jihadists were contained. The planes remained permanently on zone, supplied by an American tanker. Other Mirage 2000 D, then Rafale, a Puma helicopter loaded with ammunition and finally, at the end of the afternoon, two Tiger helicopters arrive on the scene. The clashes cease in the afternoon, after having lasted five hours. The French retreat about ten kilometers to the west, in an isolated area to spend the night there. The next morning, the column returns to Tessalit, but sone stay put with their tanks. Then in the afternoon, General Barrera decides to send two Tiger helicopters from Gao to check if the jihadists were still there. When the tigers arrived on the old battlefield, the two devices are extensively strafed. One of them is riddled with 21 impacts and fails to be shot. It retreats to Tessalit urgently. On the ground, the tanks of the 1 stRIMa open fire for an hour, while the second Tiger, less severely hit, and destroys a pickup in the green zone. According to Colonel Thierry Burkhard, spokesman for the staff of the armed forces, "a little less than a dozen terrorists" are "neutralized" during this day. Porpoises the 1 st RIMa fold again and hold their area for six days without being attacked. After the fighting on 19 and 20 February and the fierce resistance of the jihadists, the French staff is now convinced that the Ametettai Valley is the heart of the AQIM device in the Adrar. From the beginning of the fighting, the intelligence intercepted dozens of calls by satellite phones or mobile phones from the valley that had remained silent until then. The French army had "founded the enemy" and it could now prepare for the offensive. After crossing the border between Niger and Mali at the beginning of the month, the GTIA 3 leaves Gao on February 20, and arrives in the Adrar of the Ifoghas two days later. 1800 French soldiers are present at Tessalit.
Fighting East of the Amettetai Valley, February 22 For their part, the Chadians were deployed east of the valley of Ametettai. A first column, left Tessalit and commanded by General Déby, bypassed the Tigharghar from the north, accompanied by a detachment of French special forces. Coming from Kidal, the second column led by General Bikimo arrived from the south. The two forces make their junction east of the Adrar. The February 22, after a few days, Chadian troops reached the eastern entrance to the Amettetai valley. Unlike the French who had advanced cautiously in the Tibeggatine Valley, Chadians were attacking in force. Shortly after 11 am, they clash with jihadists. Clashes broke out on several points of the wadi, but the bloodiest fighting took place on a hill, north of the entrance to the valley. The Chadians were launching a real charge. Many fall under the fire of jihadists entrenched in the caves and behind the rocks. Despite the losses the soldiers are "euphoric" and "galvanized", one of them, the commander Moussa, will declare: "The terrorists faced us. They say they are crazy. We too wanted to be more crazy than them ". The clashes were confusing, some soldiers chased after jihadists who retreated to a neighboring wadi, other Islamists ambushed the Chadians, by Chadians overtake them and then shoot them in the back. The fighters are too entangled and the French air force can not intervene. Chadians, however, form a line against the main Islamist position and deliver heavy fire with guns and machine guns. The jihadists repel the first assault but several others follow and the Chadians eventually reach the caves where the last insurgents deliver a desperate resistance. The fighters clash in hand-to-hand combat, a Chadian soldier declares: "In the caves, nothing was seen. We do not have lamps. We were shooting everywhere, hoping to kill them, then we went home. " Jihadists pretend to surrender before blowing themselves up, killing several soldiers. At the end of the day, the French air force drops two bombs and the fighting ends at dusk. The losses were very heavy. 26 Chadian soldiers were killed or fatally wounded, and according to sources about 70 were wounded. Commander Abdel Aziz Hassane Adam, leader of the special forces in Mali and number two of the Directorate of Reserved Actions (DAR), is among the dead. The only two doctors and nurses in the Chadian column were overwhelmed and the French had to send two Puma helicopters to evacuate the wounded by rotation to Tessalit's vital surgery module (MCV). The jihadists leave about 93 or 96 dead, about twenty prisoners and six vehicles destroyed according to the Chadian staff. For Jean-Christophe Notin, however, it is not impossible that the Chadians were able to exaggerate the losses of their opponents to compensate for theirs. In his war memos, General Barrera refers to a loss of dozens of men among jihadists. For its part, the group of Signatories by the blood is the only one among the jihadists to provide a balance sheet. On April 1, Moghrane, spokesman for the Katiba "Al-Muthalimin" challenged the figures of the Chadian staff and told the Nouakchott Agency of Information, "that during the offensive Tagharghart, where the Chadians had announced the death of 25 soldiers, only 5 mujahideen died.
Fights in Puebla and Sontay, February 26 The Chadian column is victorious but has been severely affected by the fighting in eastern Amettetai, in addition to the casualties of many vehicles. No offensive was launched on February 23. On 24 February, Brigadier General Barrera left Gao and headed in Tessalit to conduct the next round of operations. The general of division Gregory de Saint-Quentin, chief of the operation Serval, entrusts to him the command of the terrestrial operations in the Adrar Tigharghar. The French army then planned its offensive, it plans to resume the attack on the west with the GTIA 3 and to surprise the jihadists by advancing the GTIA 4 north, on foot, through the mountainous terrain. According to General Barrera's war notes, the plan was partly inspired by the
Battle of Dobro Pole and
Operation Diadem. However, the French-Chadian forces were not numerous enough to cover the south. The zone of the south is then left to the surveillance of air forces. On the night of February 25 to 26, Operation Panther III begins. The GTIA 4 leaves Tessalit, more than 500 parachutists are loadeded on all available vehicles: VAB, GBC 180 trucks and even TRM 10000. The convoy was heading east for 80 kilometers. Around 3 pm, the parachutists were disembarked and deployed about ten kilometers north of the Ametettai. Colonel Desmeulles places the 1st RIMa tank platoon in the west, the 2nd company of the 2nd REP in the center and the company of the 1st RCP in the east. Two other companies of the 2nd REP are behind the leading units. For the parachutists, a long and trying walk begins, each soldier carries about 50 kilos of water, food and equipment in heat that can exceed 50 degrees. Every night, the troop must be refueled by helicopters, mainly in water. The first day, the progression is slower than expected, the GTIA 4 advance one kilometer and a half. For their part, armored GTIA 3 commanded by Colonel Gougeon set in motion at 3 am west of the Ametettai. Two Caesars from Gao also reach the entrance of the valley at dawn, just arrived they open fire to cover the advance of the column. After 5 kilometers of road, the GTIA 3 arrives at the scene of the fight of 19 February but no jihadist appears. The French continue their progression and reach the crests of Sontai and Puebla. This time the jihadists were present, dozens of fighters open fire, sometimes within 100 meters of the French. Some are ambushed at the top of the ridges, others on the counterpoise or in a green zone below, entrenched in huts or hidden in holes But thereafter, different versions were given on the circumstances of the death of Abdelhamid Abu Zeid. On February 28, the Algerian television channel Ennahar is the first to announce the death of the AQIM leader. The channel claims that the latter was killed by French forces in the Adrar Tigharghar with about forty combatants, but sets the date of his death to Monday, February 25. The same day, Paris-Match reports that according to the MNLA and notables of the city of Kidal, 45 men of AQIM and Ansar Dine were killed on Saturday, February 23 by an air raid of the French army in the area. In Sensa, on the bases of Tinwelène and Ticherfen. The MNLA also claims to have supported the French special forces and captured seven survivors - four from the region, an Algerian, a Mauritanian and a member of the Polisario - then handed over to the French. Another AQIM leader, Sedane Ag Hita, the commander of the katiba "Youssef Ibn Tachfin", fled to Aguel'hoc after escaping the bombings. He made contact with the MNLA present in the city and reported having defected from AQIM. He is said to have testified to the death of Abu Zeid and 43 of his men allegedly by him in the area of In Sensa and Etagh, near Tabankort on 23 February. For its part, the French newspaper Le Monde announces on March 1 that the death of Abu Zeid is confirmed by a "reliable source close to the ongoing military operations in northern Mali . " It would have occurred in the "very last days" in the Etagho area and 43 fighters of his katiba would have been killed with him. Colonel Thierry Burkhard, spokesman for the French armies, then said he had "no specific information on this person" but confirmed that a French air raid took place in the In Sensa area and destroyed six vehicles. In January 2014, in Kidal, AFP journalist Serge Daniel meets a young Touareg from Tessalit nicknamed "Tic - Tac", a battle survivor in Tigharghar. "Tic-Tac" claims to be non-Islamist and to have joined Ansar Dine out of admiration for his leader Iyad Ag Ghali . He gives more details about the death of Abu Zeid which he claims to have witnessed. According to him, the convoy of the fighters of AQIM and Ansar Dine was about sixty kilometers from Tessalit when it is attacked by French planes. Abu Zeid, driving the lead vehicle, is killed instantly by the first strike. Iyad Ag Ghali is then right behind him, driving the second vehicle of the convoy. Mad with rage, almost in a trance, he throws himself on the 14.5 mm machine gun stuck on his own pickup shouting " Allahu akbar ". It is ultimately his own men who must force him out after seeing a second plane. Iyad Ag Ghali narrowly survives the bombing that follows, his vehicle is sprayed shortly after being abandoned. Hiding in the bushes with some of his relatives, he manages to win another pickup hidden behind tarpaulins, with which he finally manages to escape. According to journalist Serge Daniel, this "version of the facts corresponds to the information collected from military sources in the Sahel region". However, on 4 March, the Mauritanian agency Sahara Media announces that according to the statements posted on the same day by an AQIM member, Abu Zeid was killed "by a French aerial bombardment in the mountains" and "not by the Chadians " The jihadist also denies the death of Mokhtar Belmokhtar and claims that the latter fights in the region of Gao and not in the Adrar of Ifoghas. The announcements of the Chadian government, especially that concerning Belmokhtar, were rechived with skepticism by the French. The clash took place about fifteen kilometers from the Garage and it appears that the Chadians have exaggerated their success because jihadists still largely held the valley of Amettetaï. The staff then addresses Commander Jack, the leader of the French Special Forces detachment accompanying the Chadian column. He was present during the fight of February 22 but he himself learned the death of Abu Zeid only by the press. However, he obtained from Chadian soldiers photos of a corpse resembling the jihadist leader and the indication of the place where he was buried. On March 3 and 4, the special forces went on the spot by helicopter and collected fragments on the body which were then given to the DRS, the Algerian intelligence services, to be compared with members of his family.
Taking the Amettetai Valley, from February 28 to March 3 On February 28, GTIA 3 continued slowly west of Amettetai, uncovering several weapons stocks as deminers probe the terrain for mines and FDI. Meanwhile, in the north, two sections of the 2nd company of the 2nd REP, supported by a Tiger, attacked at 1 o'clock a group of jihadists entrenched on a height spotted the day before. The clash lasts five hours and ends with a grenade at the bottom of the caves. About 10 to 15 jihadists are killed, some are slaughtered within five meters by legionaries paratroopers. The French have only one injured, hit by a bullet in the helmet. To the east, Chadians still face mines and eight of their soldiers are wounded. A combat post is also destroyed by the air force on the same day and 15 jihadists spotted by a Harfang drone are eliminated by the strikes of a Mirage 2000D. On the 28th, the French army announces that it estimates that the fights delivered the previous days made about 130 dead among the Islamists. An official of the administration of Aguel'hoc, also says that a young boy from the city was surprised by the Islamists and executed for setting pointing devices for the French air strikes. The same day, a sub-group maintained in reserve in Tessalit leads the Septenkéro operation. An agreement had recently been reached in which Algeria undertook to supply the French army with fuel to confront AQIM. The French soldiers leave to meet the Algerian soldiers on the Bordj Badji Mokhtar border, in front of the Malian city of In Khalil, held by the MNLA . The reception is very cold, the Algerians show themselves with weapons, helmets and bulletproof vests and fly over the area by many helicopters. Four other Septenkéro operations will still be conducted between 8 and 25 March. The next day, around 8 o'clock in the morning, the 2nd company of the 2nd REP attacks two mounds north of the valley, while the 3rd company attacks a rocky peak in the south, near the "camp of the sands" and the "camp of rocks ", in the wadi that connects the valley of Amettetaï to the valley of Integant. The north position is taken around 10 o'clock, and the southern position around 11 o'clock. On each of the two points, the assault gives rise to very close combats which end in caves. About twenty jihadists die into these two clashes. Further east, the 140 men of the 1st RCP attack around 9 am an ultimate rock lock held by a dozen fighters. The French are first targeted by snipers, the hunters replicate and some of them perform a bypass movement on the right. The air force and the Tigers intervene but without success, the thickness of the rocks protects the defenders from the bombs. Around 11 am, the hunters storm, but the jihadists repel them twice. Soldiers hurt themselves by spraining the rocks. Around 18 hours, a third assault fails and a French soldier is shot in the head. The shelling then resumes again. During the seven hours of the fighting, the piton is struck by six Milan missiles fired at AT4, two GBUs and six HOTs fired by two Gazelle helicopters and two Tigers who also empty their ammunition, but at nightfall the jihadists still hold the position. According to the French staff, the day's record is of more than fifteen "neutralized" Islamists, three destroyed pick-ups and three important caches of ammunition, equipment and several heavy weapons seized. A Chadian soldier is also killed. The next day at dawn, the 1st RCP is relieved by 25 men of the 2nd REP and elements of the 17th RGP . The hunters bypass the position and head east. The legionaries on their side launch the ultimate assault. They take the peak and kill the only jihadist they find, hidden in a cave. Nevertheless, traces of blood, clothing and ten Korans found on the spot suggest that other fighters have managed to escape, perhaps later dead or injured.
Capturing the Sands, Rocks camp After the capture of the Ametettai valley, the fighting decreased in intensity, the French and Chadians continued the excavations in the Adrar Tigharghar and punctually encountering a few scattered small groups. As of March 5, loudspeakers mounted on helicopters flying over the valleys of the Ametettaï and Terz, called in Arabic and Tamashek the last defenders to surrender. On March 6, the 3 e company 2 e REP continued south to the "Rock camp". They meet a small group of four jihadists who are all killed after two hours of fighting and whose last man is shot to less than one meter. Already visited twice in February, the "camp of rocks" is again searched by the special forces the night of March 4 to 5, and that of 6 to 7. They remain there even the next day before retiring. Then, on the morning of March 8, 200 paratroopers took control. The resistance is weaker than expected, a French lieutenant is wounded, and six jihadists are killed. Corpses of fighters probably killed by mortar fire a few days earlier are also discovered. For its part, the GTIA 3 goes down the valley of Integant and advances towards the "camp of the sands". Along the way, three jihadists are targeted by the firing of a tank. Two are killed, the third, wounded, traps the bodies of his comrades with grenades before being surprised again and shot not far away. The sands camp is taken without the French suffering any casualty. The Panthère III operation ends then and on the evening of March 8 the GTIA 4 starts to be repatriated on Tessalit in vehicles or helicopters. This movement lasts until the morning of March 10. On March 7, Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian visits the French troops in Tessalit and in the Amettetai Valley. According to a statement from the Defense Ministry, he addresses the troops "a message of pride and encouragement for the mission they perform against terrorist groups that had made the massive Ifoghas their sanctuary". On that date, the French seized 1,000 rockets and grenades, 60,000 ammunition, and 1,500 shells and equipment for making homemade explosives.
Operations in the Terz Valley of March 15 to 21 After taking the Ametettaï Valley, the French army and Chadians planned a new operation in another valley, that of Terz further south. The operation for the valley of Terz is named Panther VI by the French. The maneuver is close to Panther III; GTIA 3 is to enter the valley from the west, GTIA 4 to the north by Tahor Pass to the north and Chadians to the east to close the lock. However, the climatic conditions and the nature of the terrain put the vehicles and equipment of the Chadian forces under severe strain. Many armored vehicles have broken down, half of the AMX-10 RC can no longer ride and 200 infantrymen have no more shoes. For three days, the mechanics repaired the two tank squadrons, sometimes "cannibalizing" other vehicles, while new pairs of shoes were collected and returned to French soldiers for two days. On March 11, Chadians leave Aguel'hoc accompanied by French mortar gunners. They bypass the Adrar Tigharghar from the south and recognize the Assamalmal Valley. A battle occurs around 15 hours after. In a statement, the Chadian staff says that they had dead and wounded and have six dead and five prisoners among jihadists. However, General Barrera does not mention in his war notes of killed on both sides during this conflict. Later, he even said that Chadian soldiers would have encountered a lone fighter. On the 13th, two Chadians wounded by bullets are evacuated by a Puma. On the 15th, the GTIA 3 and 4 of the French army leave Tessalit while the Chadians leave the valley of Assamalmal, to take position east of the valley of Terz. The next day, the French enter the valley. The paratroopers do not encounter any resistance on the heights of Tahor, some empty pickups are bombarded by the air force and quickly the soldiers discover arms depots and food in shooting positions. The armor of the GTIA 4 is first preceded by sappers, but the column is late and must accelerate. Around 16 pm, a tank AMX 10 RC the 1 st RIMa hit a mine, three crew members were seriously burned and the driver is killed. The next day the GTIA 3 gives up passing through the west entrance, considered too narrow and too risky, it bypasses the north to take the path taken by the GTIA 4, now secure. But while the French and Chadians expected to find strong resistance, it turns out that Terz was recently abandoned by jihadists. The valley is searched, a pickup containing a large stock of ammunition and shells is destroyed by the engineers. A 14.5 mm machine gun, an anti-tank gun SPG-9, mortars and a missile 107 107 type firing station are also found in a cache. On March 20, the French and Chadian make their junction and Operation Panther VI ends the next day.
Operations in Adrar Tigharghar, from March 21 to 31 On March 21, the French and Chadian forces moved south of the Adrar Tigharghar to the area known as "Jason", where there is an oasis called the "Garden", caves and the circus of Assamalmal - or Tigharghar - a natural amphitheater of 15 km in diameter in the middle of which is a mineral desert. On March 23, GCPare dropped at night by helicopter near the Garden, but the area turned out to be empty. The Chadians approached the circus but they did not find any passage that would allow vehicles to access the interior, the staff deduced that no material could be conveyed by the jihadists. There is nothing either on the side of the parachute dragons who search the Adrar Dourit from March 23 to 30. On March 23, the Chadians return to Aguel'hoc and the GTIA 4 does the same to Tessalit. The GTIA 3 returns in turn on March 25. From 21 to 25 March, 122 and 120 mm shells, four boxes of PG9 rockets, 60 mm mortarsand some mines were seized. On March 26, a company of the 2ond REP and another from the 1st RCP leads Operation Tigris in the town of Tessalit to search the city and to ensure the absence of any jihadi presence. There are no arrests or seized material. On the 27th, GTIA 3 comes out again from Tessalit. One of its subgroups led the operation Panthère VIII, that went to recognize the valley of Assamalmal south of Adrar Tigharghar, then again the "Garden". A printing press is discovered during the excavations, as well as some stocks of weapons. The other sub-group, commanded by Colonel Gougeon, is leading the Renard operation with the Chadians. He go to Boghassa, then Abeibara. In the latter city, a Togolese jihadist is arrested. Generals Barrera and Bikimoand Colonel Gougeon then meet the notables and residents indicate the location of depots of weapons, medical equipment and ammunition. These transactions end on March 31. The Adrar Tigharghar is now considered empty and French troops begin to be disengaged. GTIA 3 returns to Kidal and on April 2 it is in Gao. In early April the GTIA can repatriate and two of its SGTIA Abidjan, return to France after ten days in the Ivorian capital. On 5 April, Chadian forces return to Kidal. On 9 April, the French garrison of Tessalit rose in ten days from 2.000 to 400 men. In May, all the GTIAs engaged in Operation Serval were relieved and returned to France after a stopover in Paphos, on the island of Cyprus, to decompress at the request of General Barrera. Chadians, on the other hand, remain deployed much longer in the Kidal region; in September 160 soldiers of the Tessalit garrison desert the Amachach military camp after having complained of not having been relieved after nine months of mission in the great north of Mali. ==Aftermath==