18 August 2009
Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb has claimed responsibility for the August 8 suicide bombing near the French embassy in the Mauritanian capital of Nouakchott in which three people were injured, including two French gendarmes.
AFP - Al-Qaeda's North African wing claimed on Tuesday responsibility for an August 8 suicide bombing near the French embassy in the Mauritanian capital Nouakchott, a US-based monitoring group said.

Three people, including two French gendarmes, were lightly wounded by the blast, which occurred when the bomber set off an explosives belt near the outside wall of the mission.

Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb named the bomber as Abu Obeida Musa al-Basri and said he had failed to detonate his device inside the embassy because of a barrier that prevented him entering, SITE Intelligence said.

The group said the attack was in response to the "aggression of the Crusaders, particularly France, and Mauritanian leaders against Islam and Muslims," according to an online statement quoted by SITE.

It provided images of the bomber dressed in traditional Mauritanian attire while training on machine guns in a desert area.
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