Two senior jihadist leaders have been killed in joint operations with regional forces in Mozambique’s northern Cabo Delgado province, the army says.

One of them was Abu Kital who “held the position of deputy commander of the operations of the group Ahlu-Sunnah wal Jama`a (ASWJ)”, the army statement said.

The other was Ali Mahando, who also held a senior position in the group.

Mozambique’s army and allied forces, including Rwandan troops and a military mission from southern Africa’s regional bloc Sadc, have been conducting operations in the jihadist-hit province.

Mozambique has been battling an Islamic State group-linked insurgency since October 2017.

More than a million people have been forced to flee their homes with more than 4,000 others killed over the period.

Source: BBC