Bamako: The Republic of Mali’s government has announced the release of four Moroccan truck drivers who were kidnapped on January 18, 2025, in northeastern Burkina Faso near the Niger border. The drivers were freed unharmed on the evening of Sunday, August 3, 2025, as stated in a government announcement broadcast on national television.

According to Agence Marocaine De Presse, the Moroccan drivers were held by the Islamic State terrorist group in the Sahel province, which is a branch of Daesh. The successful rescue was the result of a coordinated effort between Mali’s National Agency for State Security and Morocco’s General Directorate of Studies and Documentation (DGED). The two agencies worked together with determination and professionalism from the very start of the kidnapping incident to secure the release of the drivers.