Burkina Faso's air force carried out its first t air operation with , when an Embraer EMB 314 Super Tucano worked alongside French Mirage 2000D jets near Arbinda in December, the French Ministry of Armed Forces said in a statement.
Following a December 24 attack on a Burkinabé military detachment near Arbinda in the northern province of Soum, which borders Mali, two Mirage 2000D jets took off from Niamey air base to conduct the t operation with Burkina Faso Air Force (FABF), Thursday, January 9 release said.
Islamic State said fighters from its branch in West Africa Province carried out the December 24 attack in Hallele, which began when a suicide car bomb (SVBIED) exploded at the base. A security source told AFP that the base was attacked by more than 200 heavily armed fighters in pickup trucks and motorcycles. Seven soldiers were killed and many more wounded in intense fighting that lasted for several hours.
“Once in flight, we were immediately in radio with the pilot of a Burkinabé Tucano aircraft”, said Commander Jean-Baptiste, fighter pilot and leader of the French patrol Mirage 2000. “He then told us clearly that Burkinabé troops on the ground were under attack.”
When the French aircraft reached the Arbinda area, they gathered information about the situation, the crew assessed the French command and divided the tasks between the two aircraft.
“The first Mirage ed the camp and ground troops, while aboard the second plane we looked for any suspicious activity in the area”, said Commander Camille, a weapons system navigator.
Within minutes, the French teams spotted a group of around 10 motorcycles.
“Our objective was to guide the Burkinabé plane towards the target, so that it could neutralize it,” said Jean-Baptiste. “What the Toucan could not see, we could make up for, while ing troops on the ground.”
24 reported that the insurgents were eventually repulsed after several hours by Burkinabé's armed forces ed by air power. However, militants simultaneously attacked the city of Arbinda and killed 35 civilians, according to President Roch Marc Christian Kabore. ISIS did not claim that ISWAP was responsible for killing the civilians.
Source: The Defense Post
