2 charged in Mauritania attacks

NOUAKCHOTT, Mauritania—Two accused terrorists were arrested Wednesday on charges that they organized and led attacks in Mauritania by an al-Qaida-linked cell -- one on the Israeli embassy, another that killed French tourists.

The "presumed terrorists" were arrested early Wednesday, said Mohamed Abadallahi Ould Adda, head of judicial police in the northwest African nation.

One of the men, Khadim Ould Semane, is charged with masterminding a February attack on Israel's embassy, Adda said. Semane also is suspected of involvement in a firefight with police earlier this month that left three people dead, he said.

A third man and his wife also were detained on suspicion of involvement in the April clashes. It was not clear if all four were captured together.

Another man, Sidi Ould Sidna, was charged with planning and executing the December killings of four French tourists. He was extradited by Guinea-Bissau in January but later escaped from authorities, Adda said.

They join a handful of prisoners already detained in connection with the incidents as Mauritanian authorities try to crack down on an alleged al-Qaida-linked terror cell that appears to be increasing its activities in the country.

The Algeria-based group, called al-Qaida in Islamic North Africa, has claimed responsibility for the embassy attack in which three people were injured when a gunman opened fire on the building.

Mauritanian officials have said the same group was behind the Christmas Eve killing of French tourists on a road in the south of the country.