a few days after taking the towns of konna and diabaly, the french and malian forces continued their progress on timbuktu and gao. in the latter city, about 60 islamists were killed on january 13 by french bombing according to testimonies of inhabitants. three days before the attack, a hundred special forces commandos were sent to the scene. after the capture of diabaly, the special forces advanced in gao, the largest city in northern mali, with a population of about 100,000. between 21 and 24 january, the french traveled 500 kilometers, while the road being monitored by the air force, and finally stopped in the evening of 24 a few dozen kilometers from gao.