In heavy fighting Saturday, Mali government forces with French air support partly regained the strategic town of Konna, gateway to the Mali capital of Bamako. The al Qaeda-led Islamist alliance which captured Konna appeared to be retreating. In Washington, a US official told Reuters the Pentagon was weighing options in the west African desert nation, including intelligence-sharing with France and logistics support. French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius confirmed France had carried out air strikes against the rebels to prevent them overruning?the whole of Mali.