Al-Qaeda terrorist group confirms that their key leader Abdelmalek Droukdel was killed by French soldiers

Al-Qaeda’s North Africa wing, AQIM published a video confirming the death of Algerian chief Abdelmalek Droukdel, killed by French special forces earlier this month in northern Mali. The message calls for continued battles against foreign forces in the Sahel region.

Al-Qaeda’s North Africa wing has confirmed that its Algerian chief Abdelmalek Droukdel is dead, according to SITE, the US watchdog for extremist groups.

France said early this month that its forces killed Droukdel in northern Mali near the Algerian border, where it says the group has bases it uses to carry out bombings and abductions of Westerners.

“After nearly two weeks, AQIM (Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb) has officially acknowledged the death of its long time leader Droukdel (Wadud), with a video eulogy narrated by AQIM’s head of media, pledging continued battles against occupying French forces and others in N. Africa and the Sahel,” SITE director Rita Katz said Thursday on her Twitter account.

French Defence Minister Florence Parly said June 6 that many close associates of the Algerian — who commanded several groups under the AQIM banner — were also “neutralised.”

She said that the “this is a major success for the combat, which is essential for peace and stability in the region.”

The United States said it had provided information and support in the operation.

Source: RFI