An al-Qaeda convoy carrying a shipment of weapons from North Africa to Mali has been destroyed by French forces, according to officials in Paris.
The convoy was transporting its cargo from Libya but was destroyed as it passed through neighboring Niger.
"The intervention enabled a large quantity of weapons to be seized and to neutralize a number of those in the convoy, including some who were captured," a statement from the office of French President Francois Hollande said.
The statement added that the convoy belonged to Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), a North African affiliate of the group founded by Osama Bin Laden.