African Al-Qaeda Chief, Abdelmalek Droukdel Killed By French Forces In Mali Following A Seven-Year Manhunt

France said on Friday that its military has killed al-Qaeda's North Africa chief Abdelmalek Droukdel, a key fighter who its forces had been hunting for more than seven years, during an operation in Mali.

"On June 3, French army forces, with the support of their local partners, killed the emir of al Qaeda 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.