'Al Qaida chief 'killed in Mali'

Mar 2 2013

The head of Chad's military has announced on state television that Chadian troops deployed in northern Mali have killed Moktar Belmoktar, the international terrorist responsible for the attack on a natural gas plant in Algeria which resulted in the death of dozens of foreigners.

The French military, which is leading the offensive in northern Mali, said it could not confirm the information.

Army Chief of Staff General Zakaria Ngobongue read a statement saying Chadian soldiers destroyed a jihadist base in the Adrar and Ifoghas mountains of north Mali today, killing Belmoktar.

The purported death of Belmoktar comes a day after Chad's president said their troops killed Abou Zeid, the other main al Qaida commander in the region, a claim the French also said they could not confirm.

Earlier, the leader of an al Qaida affiliate and 40 of its members have been killed in a French aerial attack in northern Mali, a Mauritanian media agency with sources close to jihadists has said.

The statement backed other reports of the commander's death.

Chad's president had announced Abou Zeid's killing by Chadians troops. However, officials in Mali and France, leading an international military intervention in Mali, could not confirm the reports.

Zeid is a leader of al Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb and his death would be a blow to the group.

Sahara Media published reports today of Zeid's death from sources it said are informed of Islamic extremists' activities. It said he was killed four days ago in an air raid by French forces in the Adrar des Ifoghas mountains of northern Mali.