Report: Mauritania targeting al-Qaida

NOUAKCHOTT, Mauritania, Sept. 19 (UPI) -- Armed forces in Mauritania have begun an operation aimed at eliminating the presence of al-Qaida in the African country, a military source says.

The unidentified Mauritanian source said since the al-Qaida organization in the Islamic Maghreb was blamed for the recent disappearance of several soldiers, the country's military has been ordered to hunt down members of the militant group, the Med Basin Newsline said Friday.

The newsletter said the hunt for al-Qaida operatives is focusing on the country's mining industry, leading armed forces to seal off an area near the capital of Nouakchott.

"The area has been sealed off," the source said. "We're looking for a column of seven to eight vehicles."

Med Basin Newsline said on Sept. 15, a dozen Mauritanian soldiers were either allegedly killed or kidnapped by the al-Qaida group.

The attack came in the wake of a coup that overthrew the country's government in August. Opposition parliamentarian Khalil Ould Teyeb said immediately after the takeover, military personnel ceased guarding the country's borders, Med Basin Newsline reported.

"The army leaders left the borders defenseless against armed groups and brought the military to Nouakchott to defend their powers," Teyeb alleged.