Ethnic Tuareg separatists in Mali called on the International Criminal Court on Tuesday to launch an investigation into alleged atrocities committed by soldiers during the conflict in the west African nation. "Soldiers have engaged in acts of torture, summary executions and forced disappearances" in several areas including Timbuktu and Gao, the Azawad National Liberation Movement (MNLA) said in a statement.

* Sources in northern Mali say Abou Zeid dead * No official confirmation from Paris * Algerians carrying out DNA tests on members of family- media By Cheick Diouara GAO, Mali March 1 (Reuters) - Sources close to Islamist militants and tribal elders in north Mali said on Friday there was no doubt one of al Qaeda's most feared commanders in Africa had been killed by French air strikes, though there was still no official confirmation.

A suicide bomber killed at least six people after ramming his explosives-laden vehicle into a checkpoint in the northern Malian city of Kidal on Tuesday, military and hospital sources said. The attacker struck a checkpost manned by Tuareg separatists supporting the French-led military offensive against Islamist insurgents. "The suicide attack targeted the checkpoint on the eastern side of Kidal which is manned by the MNLA (National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad)," a French military official told AFP in Gao, the main city in the north.

A suicide bomber in northern Mali drove a car bomb Tuesday at a checkpoint in the city of Kidal manned by Tuareg rebels supporting the French-led offensive against Islamist militants, a French military official said. It was not immediately clear whether the suicide attack against the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) caused any other casualties but the blast was described by residents as a very powerful.