Via – ZeroHedge

A horrifying accident took place Monday night over an Islamic State stronghold in Miami when two French military helicopters collided midair, killing 13 soldiers.

French President Emmanuel Macron expressed his “deep sadness” at the crash, stressing the “courage of the French soldiers” in what he called the “hard fight against terrorism” in the West African Sahel. The 13 soldiers had only one goal, Macron said: “To protect us.”

According to the Guardian, a total of 38 French soldiers have been killed in Mali since France, the former colonial power in the region, began a military intervention back in 2013, when France sent troops to liberate the captured the Mali city of Timbuktu after it was overrun by militants.

The campaign is currently France’s largest overseas imbroglio, with 4,500 troops deployed across the region, which is becoming a growing hotbed of militant activity linked to Al Qaeda and ISIS. Thousands of civilians and local soldiers (of their respective government armies) have died in the violence across the region.

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