French soldiers killed “around 10” jihadists during an operation in Mali last week, France’s armed forces spokesman, Colonel Eric Steiger, told AP. He went on to state that the Saturday operation against “armed terrorists” came three days after a separate one in Mali killed several “enemy combatants” from “a different terrorist group.” Steiger’s comments follow the EU’s pledge to allocate an additional €50 million (US$61 million) for a joint counter-terrorism force in West Africa’s Sahel region. The area, which includes Mali, has fallen prey to extremists.