New European taskforce takes on Mali's elusive militants

A soldier is pictured at the headquarters of the new Takuba force in Gao, Mali August 20, 2021. REUTERS/Paul Lorgerie

ANSONGO, Mali (Reuters) - When the soldiers reached the end of the road, they descended from their trucks and motorbikes and partially deflated the tyres to make it easier going across the soft terrain of eastern Mali.

Then they rumbled onwards in the moonlight along a grassy trail that snaked through Islamic State's stronghold there.