"You fell for France by fighting for it until your last breath": the Minister of Defense Florence Parly paid a national tribute on Tuesday in Thierville-sur-Meuse, near Verdun (Meuse), to the three soldiers of the 1st regiment of hunters who died on December 28 in Mali.
Arrived on the theater of Operation Barkhane in November, their mission was to "protect their brothers in arms" in a "region plagued by attacks by terrorist groups who pledge allegiance to Daesh or Al-Qaeda", a- she stressed.
"You were carried away by a blind enemy" and opposed him "the calm and deep gaze of freedom", continued the minister.
Brigadier-Chief Tanerii Mauri and Fighters First Class Quentin Pauchet and Dorian Issakhanian were on an escort mission in an area bordering Niger and Burkina Faso when they were killed in an attack claimed by GSIM, an affiliated jihadist group to Al-Qaeda.
