#Mali

A Norwegian soldier with the FN Minimi in Bamako, Mali. One of the purposes of TFB’s Photo Of The Day is to broaden the audience for the excellent work done by professionals in combat photography. A perfect picture may take everything from a split second to months of planning, and it would be sad to see that kind of work go unnoticed.

Each day a different image from the world of firearms. We call this POTD, short for Photo Of The Day, and it is our daily article series where we go to great lengths trying to find the most interesting pictures for you out there. Today we have a French Marine Commando sniper supporting Operation Barkhane in West Africa as part of the European Task Force Takuba. This multinational effort aids local forces of Burkina Faso, Mali, Mauritania, Niger and Chad in combating terrorist threats in the region.

POTD, short for Photo Of The Day, is TFB’s daily article series where we try to find pictures that will entertain and educate you. Did you know that credit for the first-ever color photograph taken goes to the mathematical physicist James Clerk Maxwell? At a lecture in 1861, he unveiled what is to be considered the first durable color photograph. It certainly sounds like an interesting lecture.

Photo Of The Day, or should we say of the year? As another year has passed, the Ministry Of Defense in the United Kingdom has chosen the “Best of Defence Imagery 2021“, and this image was one of the selected. It’s easy to see why, and you can see the original caption below for more background:

Photo Of The Day: TFB’s daily articles with photos like these are as close as most people ever get to Special Operations. We get a hint about what kind of uniforms, gear and equipment is being used, as well as how it’s mounted. Here we have French soldiers in Operation Monclar in Mali with various firearms from Heckler & Koch. Above you can just see the spotter behind the spotting scope and the designated marksman behind what I think is a Heckler & Koch HK417.

Hille James Combat Photographer appears again in our Photo Of The Day, a welcome return. We’re used to seeing his great photos from Afghanistan, but this time he appears from an unexpected place: Mali, a landlocked country in the Saharan and Sahelian regions. Above we can see two Dutch Special Forces soldiers. The shooting position is rather unusual, but should still work quite well. With a good support, usually with the help of a good bipod, you can get far. If you add the support of a good spotter with a set of good binoculars, you’re all set.

Photo Of The Day: Looking for moments where a photographer captures soldiers and their firearms in interesting situations or places on the Earth? Look no further, here is another dose of TFB’s daily articles where you will find just that. Today we’re looking at a French Aerial Door Gunner during a flight over Mali.

In this Photo Of The Day, we take another look at Camp Bifrost in Bamako, Mali: A cold name for a hot place.

We’re back to Mopti in Mali, and the Norwegians protecting the United Nations’ C130-J Hercules in this Photo Of The Day.

Today’s Picture of the Day is of the Norwegian Air Mobile Protection Team (AMPT) as they protect a United Nations C130-J Hercules in Timbuktu and the Bamako Airport.

According to this report from the French Armed Forces, they seem very happy with their new Heckler & Koch HK416Fs in the deserts of Sahel. They have used the HK416 out to 600 meters, with good results.

Vice has published  fascinating footage they filmed during an insurgent assault on a Mali city. The troops seem to adopt the Oscar Pistorius tactical doctrine and shoot indiscriminately at a court house, deserted buildings, through closed doors into empty rooms and at each other until they run our of ammunition and have to call the French for help. The first 2:30 minutes are an introduction about the conflict and can be skipped.

Yesterday I wrote about a Chadian solider with a tricked out AKM. I suspected the solider may have belonged to a special forces group. It turns out he is a member of the FAS (Forces Armées et de Sécurité), an elite group of desert warfare commandoes. That AK configuration is standard issue for FAS troops. Seth wrote in the comments …

It has now been confirmed that Sunday night the French Foreign Legion conducted an air assault in Mali, parachuting into the northern suburbs of Timbuktu. Other French forces control the south, while indigenous troops native to Mali attempt to hold the east and west. The Al-Qaeda linked fundamentalist rebels who have held Timbuktu for ten months are now attempting  to “squirt” out of the city and bypass rings of roadblocks set up by French and Malian troops.