Suicide bomber strikes near Mali checkpoint A young militant who locals say had ties with terror leader Moktar Belmoktar blew himself up Friday near a military checkpoint on the outskirts of Gao, fuelling fears of a looming insurgency by the jihadists who fled into the nearby desert just two weeks ago. The suicide attack, the first of its kind since the French-led mission began in January, highlights the challenges that remain despite the retaking of northern Mali's largest town by French and Malian forces nearly two weeks ago. They faced little resistance in initially recapturing Gao, though the discovery of industrial-strength explosives and Friday's bombing suggest the Islamic radicals are far from defeated. Residents of Gao on Friday described the suicide bomber, who killed only himself, as an 18-year-old Arab man who spoke French well and had lived in the town for about seven months in a house known as a jihadist hideout. Boubacar Armou, the guard who has watched over the home since last year said Mr. Belmoktar had visited it as recently as three months ago. The Algerian national, who has long operated in Mali, claimed responsibility for the deadly terror attack on a natural-gas plant in Algeria. Meanwhile, French forces surged into the country's far north near the border with Algeria overnight, retaking Tessalit. French military spokesman Colonel Thierry Burkhard confirmed Friday that French and Chadian forces now control the town and airport of Tessalit after an overnight assault involving French special forces who parachuted in to the town. The success of Tessalit, however, was overshadowed by Friday's attack in Gao and clashes between soldiers in the capital in Mali's south.