14 DAY TRIAL // Senior Al Qaeda Commander Abdelhamid Abou Zeid has been killed in an airstrike in Mali, reports say.
According to Al Arabiya, Abou Zeid headed the organization's North Africa wing (AQIM). He died during an attack by French troops in a mountainous area in Northern Mali.
French troops were dispatched in Mali to free the population in the northern desert region from AQIM influence.
Approximately 40 radical Islamic militants were killed in the strike that occurred in the Tigargara region on Tuesday, February 26. The Heavy notes that French Defense Military officials have not confirmed the Islamic leader's death.
Abou Zeid was forced out of Algeria in 2005, after being convicted for his involvement in multiple terrorist attacks. While he was sentenced to life in prison, he did not serve his time.
Instead, he was pushed out of the country during a counterterrorism operation, fleeing to Mali and remaining there until now.
The Algerian government has made no statement concerning his death as of yet. Global Post reports that the Algerian military are weary about confirming accounts on the jihadist leader's death.
"If it's true, it doesn't mean the fight is finished. [...] But it will be a very good thing for Algeria and for the region," says retired Algerian military colonel, Mohamed Chafik Mesbah.
"He is worse than Mokhtar bil Mokhtar. [...] He'll kill anyone," adds political analyst for the Algerian government Ali Zawi.
He notes that conflicting reports about the incidents are coming from his sources in tribal areas in northern Mali.
Sky News mentions that Abu Zeid gathered a fortune by kidnapping foreign tourists and asking their families and governments for ransoms.
He is dubbed responsible for killing British national Edwin Dyer in 2009 and French citizen Michel Germaneau one year later.