Algeria's leading Islamic insurgency group has reportedly
moved operations to Mauritania.
Mauritania has accused the Salafist Brigade for Combat and Call of
infiltrating the North African state. Officials said the Salafists have been
directed by Al Qaida to attack military bases and other critical facilities
in the pro-U.S. ally.
On June 4, about 150 Salafist operatives stormed a military base in
northeastern Mauritania near the Algerian border, Middle East Newsline reported. Officials said 15 soldiers
and five operatives were killed and six military vehicles were stolen.
Mauritanian Defense Minister Baba Ould Sidi told a news conference in
Nouakchott that the Salafist force overpowered the military force of 50 and
began executing the captured soldiers. Ould Sidi said the insurgents then
fled toward Algeria and Mali.
Officials said the Salafist attack could have been linked to the April
25 arrest of about 50 Mauritanians accused of being Al Qaida operatives.
They said the operatives were directed by Salafist commanders who arrived
from Algeria.
On Tuesday, the Salafist Brigade released an announcement that its
operatives struck the Mauritanian military base. The brigade, in the first
announcement of an attack outside Algeria, attributed the attack to the
arrest of 50 Islamic operatives in Mauritania.
"It is a clear message that means that our actions will not stop at our
enemy within [Algeria], but will reach enemies of our faith wherever they
are," the Salafist Brigade said. "We have, thank God, shown that we are in a
position to attack."
The Salafists were said to have recruited Mauritanian nationals to fight
Algerian forces. Officials said the Mauritanians were also used to battle
the military in Mali, which has been used as a refuge by the Salafist
Brigade.
Since the latest attack, the army has been placed on full alert.
Officials said the military sent aircraft and reinforcements to the
northeast.
