Zeid or Belmokhtar? Chadian soldier's photo sparks debate
A snapshot taken by an RFI journalist in Tessalit, northeastern Mali, of a photograph displayed on a Chadian soldier’s mobile phone, is believed to show the body of Islamist leader Mokhtar Belmokhtar, who Chadian forces say they killed on Saturday.
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The photo shows a body, whose face is covered in blood, wrapped in fabric - believed to be that of Belmokhtar who Chad says they killed in the remote Ametetai Valley of northern Mali.
Conflicting reports have since emerged over the deceased’s identity. French magazine Paris Match on Tuesday published the same image on its website claiming that it was a photograph of Abou Zeid, the top al Qaeda commander whom the Chadian military claims to have killed last Friday.
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But French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian on Monday said that there is no “proof of death” of either Belmokhtar or Abou Zeid, as Chadian President Idriss Délby once again stated that his army had killed Belmokhtar, before adding that his corpse was hidden out of respect for the Islam religion.
http://www.france24.com/en/20130305-photo-proof-belmokhtar-dead
