TEHRAN, October 22 (MNA) – Nasser Al Tergui, a leading member of African-based Al Qaeda affiliate Katiba Serma, was killed last week in Mali after an air strike by Barkhane military forces, said the French army on Thursday.

"Katiba Serma" is an armed group affiliated with al Qaeda, Reuters news agency reported.

Operation Barkhane, under which France has about 5,100 soldiers deployed across five countries in the Sahel region, south of the Sahara Desert, was launched in 2014 to combat insurgency there.

The French military killed at least 19 civilians in Mali during airstrikes in the wake of Operation Barkhane on January 3, 2021.

MA/PR