French authorities call for \'caution and responsibility\' amid hostage situation An al-Qaeda source on Monday confirmed the death of one of the leaders of the organisation\'s north African wing, in the most significant success yet for the French-led operation against Islamist fighters in Mali. Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) chief Abdelhamid Abou Zeid was killed as a result of a French bombing raid in the Ifoghas mountains, an AQIM militant told the private Mauritanian news agency Sahara Medias.
The source insisted however that another Islamist leader, Mokhtar Belmokhtar, was alive and still fighting. That contradicted claims from Chad that its troops had killed the mastermind of the January assault on an Algerian gas plant in January that left 37 hostages dead.
Algerian authorities will meanwhile study DNA samples from Belmokhtar to confirm the second body is not his.
Al-Qaeda forces claimed a broadcasted statement from Mokhtar Belmokhtar was forthcoming, striking a blow to “the crusader forces,” the militant group said.
Chadian forces have claimed they are capable of eliminating “the most dangerous” Islamist leaders in the Sahel following the death of Abou Zeid.
The acknowledgement of Abou Zeid\'s death came as France\'s top military official claimed that the intervention launched in January was now breaking the back of the organisation and its allies in Mali.
It also coincided with a call by relatives of four of the French hostages held in the region for a pause in the bombing to allow for negotiations with the rebels on the possible release of their loved ones.
Fears the hostages may have been used as human shields or could be subject to reprisal executions have intensified in recent days as the reports on Abou Zeid and Belmokhtar emerged from Chad.
France is yet to confirm the death of Abou Zeid, amid concerns of the reaction of militant groups who are still holding the French hostages.
French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian called for “caution and a sense of responsibility” in handling the reports.