About 200 French infantrymen supported by six combat helicopters and reconnaissance planes were reportedly scouring the town in central Mali and surrounding woodland for remaining Islamists, following repeated reports that rebels were trying to hide rather than leave the area.
It detailed repeated "violations of national airspace, emergency scrambles, narrowly avoided mid-air collisions, close encounters at sea, simulated attack runs… harassment of reconnaissance places, close overflights over warships and Russian 'mock bombing raid' missions".
Burnside did not perform an adequate reconnaissance of the area, and instead of taking advantage of several easy fording sites out of range of the enemy, his troops were forced into repeated assaults across the narrow bridge which was dominated by Confederate sharpshooters on high ground.
"Unlike the first two missions, its ground track does not closely repeat at the frequent intervals that would suggest an imaging reconnaissance mission".
Brown flew reconnaissance.
Then the reconnaissance began.
British reconnaissance aircraft were especially capable.
These are reconnaissance flights, unarmed planes".
