BAMAKO, Jan 5, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - Mali's army said Saturday its forces had arrested two men, one of them a leading figure in the Sahel branch of the Islamic State group.

The army announced they had also killed several of the group's fighters during an operation in the north of the country.

A statement from the army said they had arrested "Mahamad Ould Erkehile alias Abu Rakia", as well as "Abu Hash", who they said was a leading figure in the group.

They blamed him for coordinating atrocities against people in the Menaka and Gao regions in the northeast of the country, as well as attacks against the army.

Mali has faced profound unrest since 2012 linked both to militants associated with Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group, and to local criminal gangs.

The country's military rulers have broken ties with former colonial power France and turned, militarily and politically, to Russia.