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France: Hundreds of Islamist militants killed in Mali
BBC News ^ | 6th February 2013 | BBC News

Posted on 02/05/2013 6:07:31 PM PST by the scotsman

'"Several hundred" Islamist militants have been killed since France launched an offensive in Mali last month, the French defence minister has said.

Jean-Yves Le Drian said they had been killed in airstrikes and direct combat with French troops. Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius has said that France may begin pulling out of Mali as early as March.

In a newspaper interview, he said that "if everything goes as planned, the number of troops should diminish".

France has an estimated 4,000 troops in Mali and officials from multilateral institutions and dozens of countries have been meeting in Brussels to discuss how to replace them. The defence minister said the last major town in northern Mali to remain in the hands of the rebels, Kidal, was now under French control.

Air attacks are continuing on suspected rebel hideouts north of the town.'

(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.co.uk ...


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: europeanunion; france; mali; waronterror
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1 posted on 02/05/2013 6:07:38 PM PST by the scotsman
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To: the scotsman

It’s a good start....


2 posted on 02/05/2013 6:08:31 PM PST by ObozoMustGo2012
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To: the scotsman

I’ll deny this the same way the filthy koranimals deny the Holocaust.


3 posted on 02/05/2013 6:09:34 PM PST by bayouranger (The 1st victim of islam is the person who practices the lie.)
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To: the scotsman

4 posted on 02/05/2013 6:10:00 PM PST by fso301
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Light in the loafers, deadly in the boots.


5 posted on 02/05/2013 6:12:49 PM PST by Gene Eric (The Palin Doctrine.)
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To: ObozoMustGo2012

Problem is it is only a start!


6 posted on 02/05/2013 6:12:49 PM PST by Red_Devil 232 (VietVet - USMC All Ready On The Right? All Ready On The Left? All Ready On The Firing Line!)
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To: the scotsman

And the French Defence Minister announced that they will begin pulling their troops out of Mali next month.

Personally I think they should stay for 12 years, occupy with tens of thousands of soldiers, pump billions into infrastructure, corruption and bribes then negotiate with Al Qaeda for a peaceful transition.


7 posted on 02/05/2013 6:16:48 PM PST by Pan_Yan
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To: the scotsman

Looks like the French have better Rules of Engagement than we do. No Miranda Rights, letting them shoot first, etc.


8 posted on 02/05/2013 6:18:26 PM PST by UnwashedPeasant
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To: UnwashedPeasant

..not to worry Obama wants to be president of France in 2016 too...he’ll fix that...


9 posted on 02/05/2013 6:22:29 PM PST by Doogle (USAF.68-73..8th TFW Ubon Thailand..never store a threat you should have eliminated))
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To: the scotsman
Good for the French. They can expect an attempted car bomb in Paris within the next 6 months, but they know that.

Martel lives!

10 posted on 02/05/2013 6:25:18 PM PST by Pharmboy (Democrats lie because they must.)
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To: the scotsman
I'm ok with that.

/johnny

11 posted on 02/05/2013 6:25:40 PM PST by JRandomFreeper (Gone Galt)
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To: the scotsman

Two or three years ago, my Sister and BIL were vacationing in Hungary. They would send me pics about every week or so. One day they happened on a parade of mostly military items. After the parade the President of the Country gave a speech only a few hundred feet from where they were.

Among the pics they sent me was of a bunch of French soldiers all carrying those funny looking rifles and in full uniform, of course in parade formation.

They flat out impressed my. They really looked like a bunch of mean characters. Not in the least bit wussified. They also appeared to be unusually large.


12 posted on 02/05/2013 6:26:26 PM PST by yarddog (One shot one miss.)
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To: the scotsman

Good news!


13 posted on 02/05/2013 6:27:02 PM PST by Beowulf9
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To: the scotsman

They’re going to pull out in March? Ohhhhhh.....Soros got the deal signed.


14 posted on 02/05/2013 6:33:39 PM PST by blueunicorn6 ("A crack shot and a good dancer")
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To: the scotsman
"Several hundred" Islamist militants have been killed since France launched an offensive in Mali...

I'll hold my applause until all Islamist militants have been killed by France in Mali.

15 posted on 02/05/2013 6:46:33 PM PST by Navy Patriot (Join the Democrats, it's not Fascism when WE do it, and the Constitution and law mean what WE say.)
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To: the scotsman

Did they piss on their dead bodies...?


16 posted on 02/05/2013 7:01:42 PM PST by 2banana (My common ground with terrorists - they want to die for islam and we want to kill them)
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To: UnwashedPeasant

Right. Clean house and get out. No time for IED factories to emerge. War is hell. Make them think twice.


17 posted on 02/05/2013 7:04:55 PM PST by The_Media_never_lie (Actually, they lie when it suits them! The crooked MS media must be defeated any way it can be done!)
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To: Cincinna; AdmSmith; AnonymousConservative; Berosus; bigheadfred; Bockscar; ColdOne; ...

Thanks the scotsman, and thanks *France* for cleaning up the mess — well, until it becomes politically unpopular and the whole effort gets thrown under the bus.


18 posted on 02/05/2013 7:09:31 PM PST by SunkenCiv (Romney would have been worse, if you're a dumb ass.)
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To: the scotsman

France is doing the jobs Americans won’t do (anymore).


19 posted on 02/05/2013 7:14:39 PM PST by wjcsux ("In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act." - George Orwell)
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To: yarddog

Back in the day, I was on a couple operations in Africa. I saw the Legion and the French Army up close. I like having them on our side.


20 posted on 02/05/2013 7:19:50 PM PST by Ax
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