Mali news - Chad Army troops allegedly kill Abou Zeid and Moktar Belmoktar - both in the last couple of days ? Unconfirmed for now - recall many Al Qaeda leaders were killed several times over in both Iraq and Afghanistan.....

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2013/03/20133220445557956.html

Chadian troops 'kill' militant leader in Mali

Military spokesman says Mokhtar Belmokhtar, mastermind of Algeria gas plant attack, shot dead in northern Mali. Last Modified: 02 Mar 2013 23:13 inShare Email Print Share Feedback

The French military, which is leading the offensive in northern Mali, has said it cannot confirm the information [Reuters]

Chadian soldiers in Mali have killed Mokhtar Belmokhtar, the al-Qaeda commander behind a bloody mass hostage-taking at an Algerian gas plant earlier this year, Chad's military has said. The Chadian army, whose troops have been at the forefront of the hunt for al-Qaeda-linked fighters hiding in northern Mali, said Belmokhtar was killed during an operation in the Ifogha mountains on Saturday. The Algerian national, a veteran of the war in Afghanistan whose smuggling activities earned him the nickname of "Mr Marlboro", had broken away from al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) weeks ago to form a group called Signatories in Blood. His death would be a major blow to Islamist rebels in northern Mali who have been pushed into their mountain strongholds by French and African forces. "On Saturday, March 2, at noon, Chadian armed forces operating in northern Mali completely destroyed a terrorist base ... The toll included several dead terrorists, including their leader Mokhtar Belmokhtar," Chadian armed forces spokesman General Zacharia Gobongue said late on Saturday in a statement read on national television. Belmokhtar claimed responsibility for the seizure of dozens of foreign hostages at the In Amenas gas plant in Algeria in January in which more than 60 people were killed. The French military, which is leading the offensive in northern Mali, has so far said it cannot confirm the information. The purported death of Belmoktar comes a day after Chad's president said their troops killed Abou Zeid, the other main al-Qaeda commander in the region, a claim the French also said they could not confirm. Algeria's El Khabar newspaper said on Saturday that Algerian security services, who were the first to report Abou Zeid's death, had found his personal weapon and examined a body believed to be his. "Confirmation of Abou Zeid's death remains linked to the results of DNA tests done on Thursday by Algeria on two members of his family," it said.