The GIA was the forerunner of AQIM, which still counts many Algerians in its leadership.
Abou Zeid had been promoted by the emir of AQIM -- and fellow Algerian -- Abdelmalek Droukdel.
In it, the AQIM leader criticised the Mali militants for implementing Islamic law too quickly and predicted France's intervention.
France declared war on AQIM in 2010, after a 78-year-old aid worker taken hostage died in Mr. Zeid's custody.
Atmane Tazaghart, author of a book on AQIM, says there are an estimated 1, 200-1, 500 Islamist fighters currently in the Sahel.
' Belmoktar also feuded with a rival commander - Abou Zeid - one of the most violent and radical figures in AQIM.
Two men were abducted in Mali itself by AQIM in November 2011.
Now, in Mali, a country 1, 000 kilometers (621 miles) away, Chad troops are engaged in America's global war on al Qaeda, fighting AQIM.
French troops are looking to hand over the duty to a West African coalition of troops, who aren't as well armed as AQIM.
AQIM, which uses northern Mali as an operating base, and related groups have spread across an expanse of Africa from Mauritania to Chad.
Algerian officials blamed the attack on affiliates of al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, or AQIM, which uses northern Mali as an operating base.
Virtually all the AQIM cells dismantled in Europe were focused on logistics and fundraising rather than plotting terrorist attacks, according to European counterterrorism officials.
CNN: Algeria attack changes terror landscape in North Africa
Analysts say Algerian-born Abou Zeid became one of AQIM's top three military commanders in 2012 and led jihadist forces into the north Malian city of Timbuktu.
The statement said the death of "one of the main leaders of AQIM marks an important stage in the fight against terrorism in the Sahel (region)".
In a separate development, a document left by AQIM in northern Mali has indicated that disagreements between the Islamists may have led to their defeat.
The Sahel countries of Mali, Mauretania and Niger became the new center of gravity for AQIM as Algerian security forces degraded the group in its traditional heartland.
Timbuktu is one of the many former tourist destinations in Mali that foreign embassies have deemed too dangerous for visitors due to the risk of kidnapping by Aqim.
Neither Belmoktar nor Abou Zeid sat at the top of AQIM's hierarchy in North Africa but they became the two most powerful al Qaeda figures in the sub-Sahara.
"That is not to say that it was AQIM which planned, or organized or led the activity but clearly some of the individuals had some linkages, " he said.
"I'm unaware of any specific or credible information at this time that points to an AQIM threat against the homeland, but, again, I'm not ruling it out, " he said.
CNN: U.S. to base surveillance drones in Niger, ambassador says
The French military presence appears to offer some protection to Mali's Arab and Tuareg citizens, who have been accused by the Malian army and fellow citizens of helping fund AQIM.
The document, found by journalists in Timbuktu and published by a French newspaper, is said to contain advice by the head of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), Abdel Malek Droukdel.
Ngobongue called AQIM's "principal base" somewhere in Mali's north.
Kidal, 1, 500km (930 miles) north-east of the capital Bamako, was until recently under the control of the Ansar Dine Islamist group, which has strong ties to al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).
The president of Libya's parliament, Mohammed al-Magarief, asserted that U.S. intelligence had intercepted communications between elements of AQIM and Ansar al-Sharia, a group widely blamed for playing a part in the attack.
Algerian Interior Minister Daho Ould Kablia said the kidnappers were Algerian and operating under orders from Mokhtar Belmokhtar, a senior commander of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) until late last year.
BBC: Algeria siege: 'Victims' as army tries to free hostages
Abou Zeid - whose death is still to be confirmed by DNA evidence - is said to be second-in-command of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), which is fighting foreign forces in Mali.
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