Paris -
French forces have killed about 15 Islamist militants in northern Mali, French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said Tuesday.
"Our French forces carried out operations last night (Monday) in the Adrar des Ifoghas (mountains)," Le Drian told BFM television and RMC radio.
"We killed about 15 terrorists. We had them in a stranglehold," he said.
The al-Qaeda-affiliated militants that were chased from northern towns by French and Malian forces in January are entrenched in the remote mountains of the north-east, near the border with Algeria.
About 800 French and 800 Chadian forces are trying to dislodge them in a combined air and ground offensive.
"These are very tough battles," Le Drian said.
Dozens of militants - including the second-in-command of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) Abdelhamid Abou Zeid and dissident AQIM leader Mokhtar Belmokhtar - have been reported killed in recent days.
Twenty-six Chadian troops and two French soldiers have also been killed in the past two weeks.
Le Drian said France was still awaiting proof of Abou Zeid's and Belmokhtar's deaths.
An AQIM member confirmed the death of the former to a Mauritanian news site on Monday but claimed that Belmokhtar was still alive.
The intensified fighting has heightened fears for the safety of seven French hostages being held in the region.
On Monday, the families of four hostages abducted by AQIM in Niger two-and-a-half years ago appealed to the French government to negotiate with their captors.
Le Drian said he had information on the "place or places where they are being held".
"We're using all means to free them," he said, declining to give further details. - Sapa-dpa
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