Fifth French Soldier Killed in Mali Fighting

A French corporal was killed during fighting in northern Mali, bringing to five the number of French deaths since the January 11 intervention to oust armed Islamist groups, President Francois Hollande's office said Sunday.

The statement did not elaborate on the circumstances of the soldier's death and paid tribute to the French forces involved in "the final and most difficult phase of their mission" in Mali.

With its special forces and aerial firepower, the French military took only days to reconquer the main cities in northern Mali, which al Qaida's North African franchise and its allies had controlled for nine months.

But the bulk of jihadist fighters moved north to fight from their remote mountain strongholds and France has admitted that flushing them out was the most complicated and perilous phase of its involvement.

Hollande has already said he planned to scale back French military presence in the former colony as early as next month and start handing over responsibility to Malian troops and an African stabilization force.