France announced it killed Abdelmalek Droukdel, al Qaeda’s top leader in the region of North Africa, in a major victory against the terrorist organization.

Droukdel was killed in Mali along with other members of his inner circle on Wednesday. He had led al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb and its operations in the region and was previously part of AQIM’s precursor organization, the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat.