Chad's military on Saturday said that its soldiers in Mali killed the al Qaeda commander who was behind the mass hostage crisis which occurred just a few months ago at an Algerian gas plant and which left dozens dead. 

"On Saturday, March 2, at noon, Chadian armed forces operating in northern Mali completely destroyed a terrorist base (...) The toll included several dead terrorists, including their leader Mokhtar Belmokhtar," Chadian armed forces spokesman General Zacharia Gobongue said in a statement read on national television.