PARIS, Rabi'II 16, 1434, Feb 26, 2013, SPA -- France's defense minister said Tuesday that French troops are involved in "very violent fighting" in the mountains of northern Mali and that it's too early to talk about a quick pullout from the West African country, despite the growing cost of the intervention, AP reported. The fighting against extremists in the Adrar des Ifoghas mountains has been going on for days. A clash in the area killed 23 soldiers from neighboring Chad on Friday, according to a letter from French President Francois Hollande expressing condolences to his Chadian counterpart. Soldiers from Chad and a few other African countries have joined the French-led operation to help Mali's weak military push back extremists who had imposed harsh rule on northern Mali and started moving toward the capital last month. -- SPA 21:32 LOCAL TIME 18:32 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/1082370