Chadian troops in Mali killed Moktar Belmoktar , a veteran jihadist who claimed responsibility for a deadly attack on an Algerian gas facility , Chad 's armed forces said Saturday . Belmoktar led a group called Al-Mulathameen Brigade ( The Brigade of the Masked Ones ) , which is associated with al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb ( AQIM ) . He was killed during clashes in northwestern Mali , Chadian armed forces spokesman Gen. Zacharia Goubongue said in a statement read on state-run television . U.S. officials said they could not immediately confirm the report . However , the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee cheered the news . `` One of the most elusive and deadly terrorists in North Africa has been reportedly killed , '' Rep. Ed Royce , R-California , said in a statement . `` This would be a hard blow to the collection of jihadists operating across the region that are targeting American diplomats and energy workers . French and African forces are helping Malians shed militant Islamist rule . '' In January , more than three dozen hostages died in the terrorist seizure of a natural gas facility in eastern Algeria and the subsequent special forces assaults on it , according to that country 's prime minister , Abdul Malek Sallal . Belmoktar had said the attack was in retaliation for Algeria 's allowing France to use its airspace to battle Islamist militants in Mali . But regional analysts believe the operation was too sophisticated to have been planned so quickly , and Sallal said the hostage scheme had been hatched over months . The veteran jihadist behind the attack in Algeria . Belmoktar , who lost an eye while fighting in Afghanistan in his teens , long had been a target of French counterterrorism forces . Born in 1972 , Belmoktar grew up on the edge of the desert in southern Algeria . He traveled to Afghanistan in 1991 in his late teens to fight its then-communist government . He returned to Algeria as a hardened fighter with a new nickname `` Belaouar '' -- the `` one-eyed '' -- after his battlefield injury , and joined forces with the Armed Islamic Group ( GIA ) in its brutal campaign against the Algerian regime and civilians deemed to be its supporters . Belmoktar later claimed he met al Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden in the Sudan in the mid-1990s . According to Jean-Pierre Filiu , a French scholar who has extensively studied AQIM , Belmoktar rose steadily through the ranks to become the GIA commander for the Sahara . After a popular backlash against the terrorist group in Algeria , Belmoktar switched allegiance to a spinoff group in 2000 and continued to operate in the sub-Saharan region . The GIA was the forerunner of AQIM , which still counts many Algerians in its leadership . Belmoktar remained associated with that group -- but was very much his own man , analysts said . Abdelmalik Drukdal , the overall leader of AQIM , is said to have demoted Belmoktar late last year from his position as `` emir of the Sahel . '' Belmoktar also feuded with a rival commander -- Abdelhamid Abou Zeid -- one of the most violent and radical figures in AQIM . More than most al Qaeda affiliates , AQIM is divided into often competing groups . To make money , `` Belmoktar increasingly engaged in smuggling , earning the popular nickname 'Mr . Marlboro ' ... he also was involved in the smuggling of drugs , weapons , and illegal immigrants , '' Filiu wrote in 2010 . The report of Belmoktar 's death comes just one day after a U.S. official said Abou Zeid had been killed by French and Chadian forces . The president of Chad said Chadian troops killed the commander , while French military sources said earlier that Abou Zeid , a deputy leader of AQIM , was killed in an airstrike in Mali late last month . Abou Zeid was one of the group 's most ruthless commanders , having seized at least a dozen foreigners for ransom . At least two have been killed ; several French citizens remain captive . `` He was a senior influential member of AQIM , and his death represents a significant blow to AQIM 's efforts to use West Africa , and Mali in particular , as a safe haven , '' the official , referring to Abou Zeid , told CNN .
A North Africa lawmaker describes Belmoktar as one of the deadliest terrorists in U.S. . Belmoktar was killed during clashes in northwestern Abou Zeid , a spokesman says . He led a group associated with al Qaeda in the Algerian Maghreb . Belmoktar had claimed responsibility for a deadly attack on an Islamic gas facility .