Mali's ruling military junta has offered a reward of $3.5 million (about €3 million) for information that leads to the arrest or killing of Iyad Ag Ghaly, who heads the Sahel branch of the terror group al-Qaeda that launched a major offensive in April.
Ghaly, the chief of Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), is wanted by several countries in Africa's Sahel region, several of which are ruled by military juntas.
In April, JNIM joined forces with Tuareg rebels to launch the largest attacks against the Malian government in more than a decade. The near-simultaneous assaults killed several people, including Defense Minister Sadio Camara.
JNIM is the largest Islamist group fighting the juntas in the Sahel, where numerous extremist Islamist and separatist groups operate.
Who is Iyad Ag Ghaly?
