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The terrorist behind the Algerian gas plant massacre has been killed, claims a general – but his body may never be identified.

Dubbed The Uncatchable, one-eyed Mokhtar Belmokhtar has topped the most wanted list since January’s atrocity at the In Amenas desert installation where at least 37 hostages – six of them British – were killed.

Chadian General Zakaria Ngobongue reported the death of the former al-Qaeda leader in a cave complex at his desert mountain base on Saturday.

He said: “Chadian forces in Mali completely destroyed the main jihadist base, killing several terrorists including leader Mokhtar Belmokhtar.”

But yesterday a French army source said: “The base is obliterated and so it will be difficult to carry out DNA tests on those killed.

“The intelligence appears credible but there is no absolute verification.”

Cautiously welcoming the news, Foreign Secretary William Hague said yesterday: “It would be a blow to terrorism and to the criminal network around this man and other people.”

Belmokhtar, 30, also known as Mr Marlboro due to his cigarette smuggling, took responsibility for the sickening slaughter in the Sahara which claimed the life of young dad Sebastian John and five other Brits.

Belmokhtar had fled to the Adrar de Ifoghas mountains in north-eastern Mali when French troops drove them from the centre of the country.

Weapons, equipment and 60 vehicles were seized in Saturday’s raid. It came a day after Chadian President Idriss Deby said that his forces killed another al-Qaeda militant, Abdelhamid Abou Zeid, during clashes.

And at least 20 Boko Haram Islamic extremists were killed attempting to seize a military base at Monguno in Nigeria.