The French army described Mr. Wadossene as “one of the operational leaders of AQIM (Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb).” During the mission in the town of Kidal, two French soldiers were injured and two other terrorists were captured.
Ali Ag Wadossene, a leader of al-Qaeda in Mali, was killed Sunday during a French Special Forces operation in the northeastern region of the country.
The French army described Mr. Wadossene as “one of the operational leaders of AQIM (Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb).” During the mission in the town of Kidal, two French soldiers were injured and two other terrorists were captured.
France has had troops in Mali since 2013, when it started an operation to stomp out Islamist fighters in control of northern Mali.
Mr. Wadossene was suspected of being behind the 2011 kidnapping of a French hostages Serge Lazarevic and Philippe Verdon. Verdon was found shot dead in 2013.
Mr. Wadossene was imprisoned by Malian authorities and killed a prison guard during a brief escape in June 2014. He was released in exchange for Mr. Lazarevic in late December.
“I would prefer a thousand times over that he be kept in prison," Malian President Ibrahim Keita said at the time. "It is not a denial of justice. We don't have the right to deprive a man [Lazarevic] of freedom for three years whose only mistake was to be in Mali."
More than a dozen French citizens have been kidnapped in Mali in recent years.