Air Algerie plane with 116 on board crashes in Mali
(CNN) - The wreckage of an Air Algerie flight that crashed early Thursday has been found in the northern Mali desert, officials in Burkina Faso, where the plane took off, said on state-owned RTB television.
No survivors were found, according to Burkina Faso Gen. Gilbert Diendere.
Flight 5017 was carrying at least 116 people when it departed for Algeria. It disappeared from radar after diverting from its planned course due to bad weather, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius told reporters.
At least 50 of the passengers aboard the MD-83 were French. Mali will lead the investigation into the crash.
French forces, including two fighter jets, helped search for the aircraft, along with Algerian and U.N. personnel in the region, Fabius said.
Mali heads to the polls: Thousands excluded from voting
On Sunday, The West African nation of Mali will hold presidential elections.
Erin Burnett reports.
Al Qaeda fires terrorist by letter, citing poor performance
A letter recently discovered inside a former Al Qaeda stronghold reported that in October, Mokhtar Belmohktar an Algerian terrorist was terminated.
In the 10-page memo signed by the group's 14-member Shura Council, Belmoktar is described as "a bleeding wound" who -
- Failed to carry out a single successful operation
- Failed to bring in top dollar for his hostages
- Failed to answer the telephone when they called
- Failed to submit his expense reports
Jake Tapper has more OutFront.
French president's camel made into stew and eaten in Mali
CNN's Erin Burnett reports on Mali offering the French president a camel that later became someone's dinner.
Is the "One-Eye" Dead or Alive? Al Qaeda leader reportedly killed in Mali
U.S. officials say Monday they're not entirely sure whether a key leader of al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb is dead or alive, two days after the Chad military reported that they had killed Mokhtar Belmokhtar in Mali.
U.S.: No proof al Qaeda leader dead
Belmokhtar had claimed responsibility for the January attack on Algerian gas facility that left at least 37 foreign hostages dead.
OutFront tonight: CNN's Pentagon Correspondent Barbara Starr, Seth Jones, Author of Hunting in the Shadows: The Pursuit of al Qa'ida after 9/11. He's also with the International Security and Defense Policy Center at the RAND Corporation. And Peter Brookes, Former Deputy assistant secretary of Defense Under President George W. Bush.
