The announcement ends weeks of speculations over the fate of thehead of one of the most hardline al Qaeda brigades in the IslamicMaghreb (AQIM).
French president, Francois Hollande, has said that he “confirmswith certainty” the death of Abou Zeid, who was killed inMali’s Adrar des Ifoghas (mountains) at the end of February.
Hollande noted in his statement that “the end of one of the mainleaders of AQIM is a milestone in the fight against terrorism inthe Sahel (the zone of transition between the Sahara desert and theSudanese Savannas)”.
The first reports of Abou Zeid’s death appeared on TV in his nativeAlgeria back in February and were later confirmed by Chad’spresident, Idriss Deby.
Deby said that the high-ranked Islamist was killed by Chadiantroops, who are part of the French-led international contingent inMali.
But France was in no hurry to confirm the news, with Paris onlycommenting that Abou Zeid may “probably” be dead.
According to an unnamed source speaking to Reuters, Frenchauthorities were waiting for the results of a DNA test beforemaking an official statement.
Abou Zeid, who has earned millions for al Qaeda through thekidnapping of Western citizens, was behind the execution of Britishtourist, Edwin Dyer in 2009 and French aid worker Michel Germaneauin 2010.
His group is also believed to be responsible for the abduction offive French nuclear and construction workers in northern Niger in2010.
Abou Zeid was a member of the FIS (Islamic Salvation Front), whichstarted a bloody civil war in Algerian in the early 1990s afterbeing denied victory in the election.
He later joined the GSPC (Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat)where he served under another notorious AQIM leader, MokhtarBelmokthar, before becoming a commander himself.
In January 2012, an Algerian court tried Abou Zeid in absentia,finding him guilty of belonging to an international terrorist groupand sentencing him to life in prison.
France launched its military operation in Mali on January 11 topush back militants linked to Abou Zeid and other extremist groups,who had imposed harsh Islamic rule in northern Mali.
