It is the second time this week that French forces have fought the rebels.
French forces now control Kidal airport after a number of aircraft, including helicopters, landed there overnight.
Just last week, French forces raided a mountain hideout in northern Mali, near Tigharghar.
So far, French forces are making good progress in turning the tide on the rebel advances.
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He denies that French forces are overstretched, and insists there is now real progress in Libya.
He fought in the Kent Weald against Prince Louis' French forces in 1216.
French forces are continuing to carry out air strikes in mountains north of Kidal where Islamists have taken refuge.
Last week French forces carried out air strikes on Diabaly, which had fallen to the Islamists on 14 January.
Pentagon officials said a U.S. airlift of French forces to Mali is expected to continue for another two weeks.
French forces will remain in place for as long as necessary, he said.
The French forces neutralised around 340 artillery shells and high-calibre rockets found stashed under acacia trees in ravines, it reports.
With the support of French forces, the Malians entered Gao and its airport Saturday, a Malian government official told CNN.
But he said French forces had encountered "heavily armed militants" in the west, where he described the situation as "difficult".
This is the first major attack on the city of Timbuktu since it was liberated by French forces on Jan. 28.
He made his way to the U.S., where he enrolled in the University of Pennsylvania and joined the Free French forces.
Beyond combing through their weapons, French forces are using DNA tests to identify some of the slain Islamist fighters, Fabius said.
French President Francois Hollande visited Timbuktu last week, just days after French forces had freed the fabled city from Islamist militants.
CNN: French troops kill 'hundreds' of Islamist fighters in Mali
President Hollande has pledged French forces won't leave until Mali has security, legitimate authorities, an electoral process and no more terrorism.
In 1346, a small English army of 10, 000 under Edward III defeated Philip VI's superior French forces in the battle of Crecy.
Niger's government has said that four militants and three Niger soldiers were killed during the operation, which involved French forces and helicopters.
The UK is to deploy about 330 military personnel to Mali and West Africa to support French forces, No 10 has said.
BBC: Mali crisis: 330 UK military personnel sent to West Africa
Our correspondent says French forces who entered Kidal found members of the secular National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) there.
BBC: French troops in Mali take Kidal, last Islamist holdout
Earlier this year, Chad deployed some 2, 000 troops to help French forces oust Islamists who had seized large swathes of territory in Mali.
French forces helped government troops recapture the main north cities and towns, and thousands of soldiers from African countries have also been deployed.
The Chadian army - fighting alongside French forces - has claimed it killed Abou Zeid and fellow militant Mokhtar Belmokhtar in recent fighting.
BBC: Islamist commander Abou Zeid's death in Mali 'probable'
Earlier this week, French forces accompanied by hundreds of troops from Chad cleared fighters from the last rebel stronghold, the town of Kidal.
This week French forces have pursued militants who retreated into the desert around Gao and Kidal, where intense air strikes have been reported.
Meanwhile, French forces protecting Bangui's main airport opened fire on three cars that were speeding toward a security checkpoint, said the French Defense Ministry.
Despite the rapid progress of French forces in recapturing parts of the north, it may be premature to talk of mission accomplished, analysts say.
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