2007 killing of French tourists in Mauritania

The 2007 killing of French tourists in Mauritania happened on December 24, 2007.[1] The attack happened near Aleg, 250 km east of the capital Nouakchott.[2]

The victims, five French tourists on holiday, were attacked while they were having a picnic.[3] Four of them were killed and the fifth was seriously injured.[4] The lone survivor had his two adult sons killed along with his brother and a friend.[5] The 2008 Dakar Rally was cancelled because of this incident due to concerns of a possible terrorist attack.

Mauritanian authorities arrested nine people on January 7, 2008.[6] An assault rifle was recovered by police from a location close to the scene of the killings.[7] The Mauritanian interior minister blamed a terrorist sleeper cell for the killings.[8] Authorities say suspects are members of an extremist group linked to al-Qaida.[9]

One of the suspects arrested in January, Sidi Ould Sidna, escaped from the police in March but was arrested again in April.[10] Sidna had trained with the group Al-Qaeda in the Maghreb, which confirmed Sidna was affiliated with their organization.[11]

References

  1. ↑ "4 French tourists killed in Mauritania". ABC News. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
  2. ↑
  3. ↑ "Thomson Reuters Foundation". Alertnet.org. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
  4. ↑ "News". Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
  5. ↑
  6. ↑ "Mauritania detains 9 people in French tourists' deaths". Iht.com. Retrieved 7 October 2014.
  7. ↑ "Mauritania: Three arrested over slaying of French tourists - Adnkronos Security". Adnkronos.com. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
  8. ↑ "Mauritania blames killings on terrorist cell". Msnbc.msn.com. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
  9. ↑
  10. ↑
  11. ↑ "The Saharan Conundrum". The New York Times. Retrieved 6 October 2014.