ALGIERS, Algeria — Algerian army helicopters killed a top al Qaeda leader and four associates as they sped through the southern Algerian desert, a local official said Thursday.

The two four-wheel-drive vehicles were hit as they were carrying Khalil Ould Addah, known as Abu Bassen, the number three leader in the terror network’s North African branch, said the official from the southern regional capital of Tamanrasset.