Abou Zeid killed is making news headlines today as ABC Local News revealed this Friday, March 1, that Chadian President Idriss Deby recently announced that troops in north Mali reportedly killed a leading al-Qaeda affiliate commander, Abou Zeid.
Abou Zeid’s death — an Algerian warlord and radical leader of al-Qaeda charged with the kidnapping of some Westerners — couldn’t be verified by military officials right away. Reports noted that if the "Abou Zeid killed" headline is indeed confirmed, it would definitely be a devastating blow to the Islamic extremist group and its current influence in West Africa.
Police officials from France and Mali that are currently leading a military intervention against Islamic extremists in the area could not confirm the death either, while the White House has not yet offered any reaction to the Abou Zeid killed announcement.
The U.S. did, however, contribute technical intelligence and drones to help the French in the military operations, while the president’s spokesman of Chad stated that Deby first announced Zeid’s death during a Friday memorial ceremony for local soldiers killed while fighting in Mali.
"It was our soldiers who killed two big Islamist chiefs in northern Mali, including Abou Zeid,” said the spokesman.
Abdelhamid Abou Zeid was regarded as one of the major al-Qaeda leaders behind the violent brigades of North and West African areas, and participated in the extremist takeover of north Mali.
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