Mauritanian military reports intense troop movements against terror

There were intense movements of the anti-terrorism troops in the past 48 hours in the north of Mauritania, especially in the interior of Tourine-Lamgheitty-Ghallawiya triangle, the military said on Monday.

The latest movements came as an escalation of action by the country's special units, which have been deployed for more than a year in the northern parts of the country to fight the combatants of al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQMI).

The military said the troops were searching for the remaining elements of the terrorist organization.

Ten members of AQMI were killed on Friday by the Algerian army when they were trying to cross the border with a truckload of arms and explosives from Mauritania, according to the broadcast in Algiers.

The military movements on the side of Mauritania were part of the major campaign launched against the AQMI combatants by the armies in the sub-region. The movements were reported during a working visit by French army chief Jean-Louis Gorgelinis in the northwest African country.

According to observers, France wants to resume warm ties with its former colony after cold periods of military cooperation, in the aftermath of indicting a Mauritanian captain Ely Ould Dah by the French justice system in 1999, and a military coup in August 2008.

The two countries have obviously come together following a terror attack in early August when a member of the al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, a major terrorist group in North Africa, launched a suicide bombing attack near the French Embassy in Mauritania.

AQMI has been intensifying its infiltration into the sub-region, prompting the regional military cooperation against terror with the backing of the United States and European countries.

In August, Mauritania said it would send 4,000 soldiers to the southern Sahara region in a joint operation with Algeria, Mali and Niger to hunt down terrorists.

Source:Xinhua