Operation Serval Mali resulted in the deaths of 11 Islamist fighters. On the evening of April 16, 2014, the French army destroyed two pickup trucks containing jihadists north of Timbuktu. They then used air and ground forces to intercept other vehicles. During the night of April 16 to the 17th, the French special forces, backed by troops from Operation Serval and helicopters come in contact with the Islamist fighters. The French began by firing warning shots, but the jihadists refused to surrender and opened fire. Faced with the advance of the French military, they abandoned their vehicles and ran, suffering more losses.
G. S. Jayanath the award. G. S. Jayanath G. S. Jayanath PWV, CR (, died 4 December 1997), was a Major in the Sri Lanka Army and a member of the army's elite Commando Regiment. He posthumously received the Parama Weera Vibhushanaya, the country's highest military award for gallantry, for his actions during Operation Jayasikurui in the Sri Lankan Civil War. Jayanath is the only Commando to receive this decoration. In May 1997, the Sri Lankan government forces launched an offensive named Operation Jayasikurui against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (commonly known as LTTE or Tamil Tigers). This operation was intended to