French soldiers from Operation Barkhane stand at attention as they wait for the handover ceremony of the Barkhane military base to the Malian army in Timbuktu, on December 14, 2021. AFP
The Islamic State group had claimed the killings last August of the six aid workers aged between 25 and 31 and their two local guides while they were visiting a nature reserve in the West African country.
The army identified the killed jihadist as Soumana Boura, one of the bosses of the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (EIGS).
General staff spokesman Colonel Pascal Ianni told AFP that Boura had filmed the execution of the eight victims in August and overseen the publication of the footage.
Boura, who headed a group of dozens of fighters in western Niger, was killed by a French drone strike as he was riding his motorcycle, he said.
A French unit was on its way to secure the area and formally identify him, the army said.
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