Al-Qaeda's Abou Zeid killed in Mali

A senior Al-Qaeda militant has been killed in northern Mali.

 Reports say that the country's forces killed Abdelhamid Abou Zeid during clashes in the remote region.

 He is said to be second in command of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, which is fighting foreign forces in Mali.

 The Algerian national is accused of killing two western hostages, Briton Edwin Dyer in 2009 and Frenchman Michel Germaneau the following year.


 Several reports confirm, his death will immediately raise questions over the state of several French hostages who are widely believed to have been in Abou Zeid's custody.