Gao residents cheer 'Vive la France!' after French repel Mali rebels TIMBUKTU, Mali, Jan. 28 (UPI) -- French and Malian troops wrested back control of most of northern Mali from Islamist rebels but some residents said they feared the militants would return. People living in the northern city of Gao, on the River Niger, celebrated after French-led forces recaptured the city that had been under jihadist control since March 31, 2012. Residents shouted "Liberte!" and "Vive la France!" in the streets, British newspaper The Guardian said. The French suffered no losses in the battle, while about a dozen Islamist rebels were killed, the French Defense Ministry said. Surviving rebels were reported to have fled on foot or by camel since there was no fuel for motor vehicles, The Guardian said. At the same time, French and Malian troops captured Timbuktu Airport Sunday night and were poised to retake the storied Timbuktu city itself Monday morning, al-Jazeera reported. Timbuktu, about 200 miles west-northwest of Gao, is another city captured from Malian government forces by al-Qaida-linked extremists who declared the region independent of Mali as the nation of Azawa and named Gao its capital. Despite the swift successes of the French-led forces, some residents told The Guardian they thought it was only a matter of time before the rebels would emerge again. "The rebels haven't gone far," Mohamad Miaga, a 28-year-old secondary school teacher, told the newspaper. They are in nearby villages. French jets pounded the mountainous rebel-held desert town of Kidal, 180 miles northeast of Gao, the French Defense Ministry said. Mokhtar Belmokhtar -- the militant commander who claimed responsibility for the deadly Jan. 16 attack and hostage crisis at a gas plant near In Amenas, Algeria -- is believed hiding out in Kidal, The Guardian said. At least 37 foreign hostages were killed in the Algerian hostage crisis. Belmokhtar's jihadist group, the Islamist al-Mulathameen, or the Masked Brigade -- also known as al-Muaqioon Biddam, or Those Who Sign With Blood Brigade -- is a splinter faction of al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb. In a video last week, Belmokhtar claimed direct allegiance with al-Qaida. Belmokhtar has named a son Osama, after Osama bin Laden, The New York Times said.