Chad’s military chief said his troops deployed in northern Mali had killed Moktar Belmoktar, the terrorist who orchestrated the attack on a natural gas plant in Algeria that left 36 foreigners dead, including six Britons.
The French military, which is leading the offensive against al Qaida-linked rebels in Mali, said they could not immediately confirm the information.
Authorities in Kidal, the northern town being used as the base for the military operation, cast doubt on the assertion, saying Chadian officials were attempting to score a PR victory to make up for the significant losses they had suffered in recent days.
Belmoktar’s profile soared after the mid-January attack and mass hostage-taking on a huge Algerian gas plant.
Kenny Whiteside, originally from Glenrothes in Fife, and Carson Bilsland, from Bridge of Cally, died in the attack.
Belmoktar’s purported death came a day after Chad’s president said his troops had killed Abou Zeid, the other main al Qaida commander operating in northern Mali.
If both deaths are confirmed, it would mean that the international intervention in Mali had succeeded in decapitating two of the pillars of al Qaida in the Sahara.
“Chad’s armed forces in Mali have completely destroyed a base used by jihadists and narcotraffickers in the Adrar and Ifoghas mountains of northern Mali,” army chief of staff General Zakaria Ngobongue said in a televised statement on state-owned National Chadian Television.