A French soldier of the 92nd Infantery Regiment takes part on April 10, 2013, 105 kms north of the northeastern Malian city of Gao, in day three of Operation Gustav, a hunt for Islamist fighters in a valley in northern Mali and one of France's largest military operations during its three-month intervention in its former colony. Operation Gustav comes with France preparing to withdraw three-quarters of the 4,000 troops it deployed in January to block a feared advance on the Malian capital Bamako by Al Qaeda-linked insurgents.