A South African soldier attached to the Southern African Development Community (SADC) intervention force in Mozambique was killed during an ambush by Islamic State-linked insurgents, APA learnt here on Tuesday.
South African National Defence Force (SANDF) spokesman Andries Mahapa said the unnamed soldier was part of a SADC Mission in Mozambique (SAMIM) patrol that came under attack from insurgents during an ambush in the area east of Chai village in Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado province on Monday.
“During this incident, a member was shot and declared dead on the scene,” said Mahapa.
The official said investigations are being conducted to determine the extent of injuries and loss of equipment during the attack.
The death becomes the latest casualty suffered by the regional force which was deployed this year to assist Mozambican troops to repel the Al Sunnah wa Jama’ah insurgents who have been attacking civilians and government installations since 2017.
At least five SADC forces have been killed since the regional brigade deployed in Mozambique around July this year.
JN/APA