Islamic insurgents in Mali have announced the capture of Russian mercenaries from the so-called “Wagner APC.”

Militarnyi reports about this.

The JNIM group reported that Wagner Group mercenaries had been captured in the beginning of April.

Al Qaeda-linked Islamic extremist insurgents in Mali have said they have captured mercenaries from Russia’s Wagner Group in fighting earlier this month.

A rebel group known as the JNIM has, for the first time, reported the capture of Russian troops.

A JNIM statement claims that Wagner’s fighters were captured in the first week of April in the Segu mountain range in central Mali. The group called the fighters “criminals.”

Since the beginning of the year, several European countries have condemned the presence of Russian mercenaries fighting alongside the Malian soldiers.

Their number is estimated at 1,000 people. They are accused of killing about 300 civilians in the city of Moore.

Also, a few months ago, the Russian government donated a Mi-35 attack helicopter to the Mali Army to be used in the war against jihadists.

It was destroyed by JNIM terrorists a few days ago when they attacked the Malian army in Segu.

For reference: JNIM (Jama’at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin) is a militant jihadist organization in the Maghreb and West Africa. It is the official branch of al-Qaeda in Mali after its leaders swore allegiance to Ayman al-Zawahiri.

The Center for Strategic and International Studies describes JNIM as “an al-Qaeda-affiliated Salafist-jihadist insurgent organization that aims to replace established state power with conservative interpretation of Islamic law.”