Mauritania soldiers on Wednesday surrounded the state radio station, which has been off air since the morning, Qatar-based al-Jazeera TV channel reported.

The incident occurred from 5:00 am (0500 GMT), while President Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya was out of the country, who was in Riyadh on Tuesday for the funeral of Saudi Arabia's King Fahd.

Further reports reaching here said that it is a coup d'etat as the army troops, dominated by presidential guard members, took over the armed forces headquarters, state radio and television buildings in the capital Nouakchott.

The troops also blocked off access to the presidential palace and government ministers, said witnesses, adding military vehicles equipped with heavy weaponry and anti-aircraft guns took up positions in the capital.

Mauritania has witnesses several coup attempts since June 2003, when dissident soldiers came close to toppling Taya during two days of street fighting in Nouakchott before loyalist forces regained control.

Source: Xinhua