France Bombs Timbuktu, Ex-Qaddafi Mansion

Say they bombed a major Al-Qaeda base outside Timbuktu as well

Mali's army chief Tuesday said his French-backed forces could reclaim the northern towns of Gao and fabled Timbuktu from Islamists in a month, as more offers of aid poured in for the offensive.

French planes bombed a major base of the Al-Qaeda in Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) near Timbuktu, a defence ministry official said on condition of anonymity, as officials said a mansion belonging to Libyan former strongman Moamer Kadhafi was destroyed.