French military forces killed al-Qaida’s North Africa chief, Abdelmalek Droukdel, during an operation in Mali, officials said Friday.
“On June 3, French army forces, with the support of their local partners, killed the emir of al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, Abdelmalek Droukdel, and several of his closest collaborators, during an operation in northern Mali,” French Armed Forces Minister Florence Parly wrote on Twitter.
French forces had been hunting Droukdel, a key Islamist fighter, for more than seven years, officials said.
The French-led operation against Droukdel was aided by U.S….
