| Conflict: | 2017 Indelimane ambush |
| Place: | Indelimane, Menaka Cercle, Mali |
| Partof: | Mali War |
| Date: | November 24, 2017 |
| Result: | Indecisive |
| Combatant1: | MINUSMA
Mali |
| Combatant2: | Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin Islamic State in the Greater Sahara |
| Casualties1: | 3 killed, 17 injured 1 killed, 1 injured |
| Casualties2: | 2 killed |
On November 24, 2017, jihadists from Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin ambushed Nigerien MINUSMA peacekeepers and Malian soldiers in the village of Indelimane, Mali.
Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin was formed in 2017 as a coalition of five different jihadist groups that had been rebelling against the Malian government since 2012.[1] Prior to the attack in Indelimane, the group attacked a MINUSMA base in Timbuktu.[2] On the same day of the Indelimane ambush, JNIM attacked a MINUSMA base in Douentza, killing one MINUSMA peacekeeper and injuring three others.[3]
The ambush occurred at 5am at a MINUSMA camp in the village of Indelimane, Ménaka Cercle. The attack was marked by a rain of rockets that hit the peacekeepers and Malian troops, which was followed up by a frontal attack by the jihadists.[4] MINUSMA reported that several attackers were killed, and the ambush was repulsed.[5] The peacekeepers then sent out in pursuit of the attackers.[6]
Three MINUSMA peacekeepers were killed in the ambush, along with sixteen others injured and one civilian employee injured. The Malian government stated one Malian soldier was killed and one injured. A Nigerien contingent of peacekeepers were on patrol at the time of the attack.[7]
JNIM claimed responsibility for the attack on November 25, and released a statement claiming five Nigerien soldiers were killed along with two JNIM fighters.[8] [9] Interviews with witnesses to the attack reported that fighters from the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara participated in the ambush, in the first confirmed collaboration between the two groups.[10]
See main article: Battle of In-Delimane (2018).
In early 2018, GATIA and the MSA, alongside French troops, fought several skirmishes against JNIM and the Islamic State in the vicinity of Indelimane.