Mauritania captures five al Qaeda suspects in sweep

By Vincent Fertey

NOUAKCHOTT (Reuters) - Mauritanian security forces recaptured five suspected al Qaeda militants on Wednesday including a fugitive accused of killing four French tourists, officials said.

The December 24 killing of the French tourists and a shooting attack against the Israeli embassy in Mauritania's capital Nouakchott in February raised fears of a rise in Islamic militant violence in the traditionally sleepy Saharan state.

Those arrested in Wednesday's operation included Sidi Ould Sidna, a suspect in the slaying of the French tourists, whose escape from police custody outside a courtroom this month led to a nationwide manhunt and a series of raids on suspected militant hideouts.

Chief prosecutor Mohamed Abadllahi Ould Tiyib said Sidna was detained along with another suspect, Khadim Ould Semane, who is accused of masterminding the Israeli embassy attack.

"The two most important suspects have been arrested. I have seen them. They are in detention at the gendarmerie," he said.

A security source said three others were also detained.

"Several searches are under way and those detained have been transferred to a high security location," said the source, who asked not to be named.

The spate of attacks, claimed by al Qaeda's North African branch, triggered concerns that al Qaeda was extending its operations into Mauritania from its established bases in neighboring Algeria and nearby Morocco.