THE French army has killed an al Qaeda leader during an operation in the Sahel region who is believed to be responsible for the kidnapping and killing of two French journalists in 2013, Armed Forces Minister Florence Parly has revealed. Parly said in an address posted on Twitter that three Islamist militants were also killed during the operation in the West African region. "On June 5, the Barkhane force detected a planned attack on an UN compound in Aguelhok in northern Mali", the minister said. She said that a military operation was launched as a group of armed terrorists was…