TEHRAN, October 13 (MNA) – Al-Iza Ould Yahia, a notorious terrorist ringleader, was killed along with several of his associates by the Malian Armed Forces (FAMa) in an operation on October 6 in Ber, northern Mali, the Malian army said on Saturday."This long-wanted terrorist leader was responsible for numerous atrocities against civilians, including assassinations, planting improvised explosive devices, and launching attacks on FAMa," the army said in a statement.

Terrorist attacks were carried out in Ber on October 8 and 9, but FAMa successfully repelled them, neutralizing several terrorists, destroying their equipment, and seizing large quantities of drugs, heavy weapons, ammunition, and communication tools, the statement added.

Mali has been grappling with a complex crisis since 2012 along with inter-communal violence, which has claimed thousands of lives and displaced hundreds of thousands of others.

MNA/PR