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The paratrooper was killed on Saturday "assaulting an enemy position" in the Adrar des Ifoghas mountains.
BBC: Mali crisis: French soldier killed fighting Islamists
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Others had made a "tactical withdrawal to the Adrar des Ifoghas", the mountainous region east of Kidal covering some 250, 000 sq km (96, 525 sq miles), he said.
BBC: Mali militants 'in disarray' after French air strikes
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Chadian officials say that Belmoktar himself is now dead, killed Saturday as French and Chadian special forces penetrated the remote Adrar des Ifoghas mountain range in northeastern Mali.
CNN: Phone call links Benghazi attack to al Qaeda commander
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On Saturday, a French soldier was killed in the Adrar des Ifoghas mountains in northern Mali, the third French serviceman to die since the start of military intervention in January.
BBC: Islamist commander Abou Zeid's death in Mali 'probable'
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"The president of the French Republic confirms with certainty the death of Abdelhamid Abou Zeid after an offensive by the French army in the Adrar des Ifoghas (mountains) in the North of Mali, at the end of February, " the Elysee presidential palace said.
BBC: File picture of Abdelmalik Abou Zeid
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Tessalit is about 200km (125 miles) north of Kidal and is a gateway to the Adrar des Ifoghas mountains, where rebels are believed to have sought refuge after being forced from the main population centres in the north and east of the country.
BBC: Kidal assault: French jets bomb northern Mali