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Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) emir Abdelhamid Abou Zeid was killed in Mali by a French airstrike, Ennahar TV reported Thursday (February 28th).
The commander of AQIM’s Tariq Ibn Ziyad Brigade was reportedly killed along with 40 other terrorists when French warplanes bombed a convoy in the area of Tigharghar in northern Mali, not far from the Algerian border.
France’s defence minister has said that French troops are involved in “very violent fighting” in the mountains of northern Mali and that it is too early to talk about a quick pullout from the West African country, despite the growing cost of the intervention.
The fighting against rebels in the Adrar des Ifoghas mountains has been going on for days.
French forces say they have entered Kidal in the north of Mali, the last major town they have yet to secure in their drive against Islamist militants.
A number of French aircraft, including helicopters, had landed overnight at Kidal airport.
French and Malian forces have retaken the northern Malian cities of Gao and Timbuktu from Islamist rebels, security officials said Monday.
Coalition troops, backed by French warplanes, took the airport in Timbuktu early Monday and moved into the city center, which had been held by the Islamist rebels since June.
French forces, backed by US logistical support, headed for the mystical town of Timbuktu on Sunday, scattering the remaining al-Qaeda backed rebels seeking to create a new Afghanistan in the desert nation of Mali.
Saturday, the French military’s website reported the capture of Gao, the last major town held by the Islamists.