| Tiébanda skirmish | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part ofMali War | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Mali |  Katiba Macina | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| None | 5–7 killed 10 injured | ||||||
On October 28, 2015, a battle broke out inTiébanda,Mali, betweenKatiba Macina militants and Malian forces.
On October 27, 2015, Malian forces began an anti-jihadist operation dubbedOperation Seno, and launched patrols around the cercles ofMopti,Koro, andBandiagara in Mali'sDogon country.[1] Operation Seno was the largest Malian operation against jihadists since the start ofOperation Serval in 2013.[1] Around the start of the operation, twelve jihadists suspected to be part ofKatiba Macina, anAnsar Dine affiliate in Mopti Region, were arrested and taken toBamako.[2] Afterwards, Malian forces conducted operations inBankass, Koro,Douentza, andTominian.[3]
Fighting broke out in Tiébanda, near the village of Tassilima and about thirty kilometers from the Burkinabe border, on October 28.[4] The Malian army attacked a Katiba Macina hideout in the bush, with the intel of the location having been provided by two people who were forcibly recruited by the jihadists and later escaped. The clashes lasted for six hours.[4]
According to a Malian ministry of defense official and a Mopti regional official interviewed anonymously byAFP, seven jihadists were killed in the skirmish and ten were injured. Weapons and equipment were seized as well, and the Malian forces did not suffer any casualties.[5] The Malian ministry of defense released a statement on October 30 announcing the deaths of five militants.[5][3]