French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said Sunday that French jets had carried out strikes against rebel bases in northern Mali after halting the rebels' advance in the centre of the country, DPA reported.
"Blocking the terrorists, that's done. What we started today was taking care of the terrorists' strongholds," Fabius told RTL radio and LCI television in an interview.
Fabius cited strikes on Gao, one of the three northern towns captured last year by the rebels.