PARIS: Around 15 rebels were killed overnight in heavy fighting with French and Chadian forces in northeastern Mali, French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said on Tuesday.

The defence ministry has said dozens of rebels have died in the area over the past few days. A third French soldier died in the conflict on Saturday.

“There were operations carried out by our troops overnight against a group of rebels in the region, in the Ametettai valley,” Le Drian told BFMTV, adding that there were “around 15 killed.”

French-led forces launched military operations in Mali in mid-January seeking to drive out rebels who had controlled the vast desert north of the country for nearly a year.

The offensive quickly routed the fighters from main cities and fighting has since been concentrated in the rugged mountain terrain in the northeast.

Agence France-Presse