The French President Francois Hollande has officially confirmed the death of militant commander Abdelhamid Abou Zeid in Mali./ Africa News

Soldiers from Chad fighting alongside French forces claimed earlier this month that it had killed Abou Zeid and fellow militant Mokhtar Belmokhtar in fighting in February but their claims were in doubt since the bodies of these commanders of the militants were never showed.

The French newspaper Le Monde said DNA samples had made it possible to formally identify Abou Zeid by the Presidency.

“The president of the French Republic confirms with certainty the death of Abdelhamid Abou Zeid after an offensive by the French army in the Adrar des Ifoghas (mountains) in the North of Mali, at the end of February,” President Hollande said but failing to give details of how it identified Abou Zeid body.

Many 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.

President Hollande said the death of one of the main leaders Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb of (AQIM) marks an important stage in the fight against terrorism in the Sahel (region).

Abou Zeid was a senior figure in al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and command respect and inspiration for the group.

Mali Conflict:Fighting with militants intensifies in the North

Meanwhile, despite the announcement of the death of Abou Zeid, Islamist rebels have attacked Gao in an intense fighting in the city.

The Malian army said it had been battling the rebels for long hours on Sunday morning and the rebels not to be seemed to giving up.

The army said the insurgents had slipped past army checkpoints to enter the town and residents had raised the alarm, saying rebels had entered their neighborhood.

Gao was controlled by an Islamist group for several months before it was liberated in a French-led offensive in January.

Gao Mayor Sadou Diallo said the Islamist fighters had launched Saturday’s attack inside the city’s Quatrieme Quartier, or Fourth District, and retreated when they were engaged by Malian forces.

“There was heavy gunfire. The situation is under control now. The Islamists entered via Quatrieme Quartier, and the army went to meet them and was able to push them back,” Mr. Diallo told reporters on Sunday evening.

Issaka Adams / NationalTurk Africa News

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