Det er ikke kun i Irak, at vestlige luftstyrker opererer mod islamistiske militser. Franskmændene har oprettet en særlig indsatsstyrke, som skal bekæmpe militserne i store dele af den fattige Sahel-region i Saharas sydlige udkant.
French forces have bombed Islamist militant positions in northern Mali. Four or five bombs were dropped in the Esssakane region, west of the city of Timbuktu on Sunday morning, BBC online reports Sunday.
The UN has said al-Qaeda militants were active in the area. Last month Timbuktu airport came under rocket attack.
France intervened in Mali in January last year to try to drive out al-Qaeda-linked groups, which had taken over the north of the country.
Last month the French government said it was setting up a new military operation to stop the emergence of jihadist groups in the Sahel region of Africa.
About 3,000 French soldiers will be deployed, along with troops from Mali, Mauritania, Burkina Faso and Chad.
The new long-term force, named Operation Barkhane, will be based in the Chadian capital N’Djamena, but will have a mandate to operate across borders.
It will target Islamist extremists in Mali, Chad and Niger. The French troops will be backed by six fighter jets, 20 helicopters and three drones.
Both ethnic Tuareg separatists and al-Qaeda-linked militants are operating in northern Mali, notes BBC.
