20110626
xinhua
NOUAKCHOTT, June 25 (Xinhua) -- The Mauritanian army clashed with the al-Qaida branch in North Africa (AQIM) in northern Mali, destroying a base and vehicles of the terrorist group, the military confirmed on Saturday.

Fighting erupted on Friday night in the forest of Wagadou between Mauritanian troops and combatants of AQIM, where an AQIM camp and two 4X4 vehicles were destroyed, the military said amid allegations about the latest cross-border attack.

Both Mali and Mauritania are members of a regional organization against terrorism.

Confrontations began "Friday around 6 p.m. (local time) and Mauritanian troops benefitted from support of airforce," a statement of the military said.

The battle left four Mauritanian soldiers injured, the statement said, adding that the casualties of AQIM remained unknown given the obscurity of the forest.

Huge explosions were heard in the course of the encounter "due to the destruction of caches of ammunition of terrorists," according to the statement.

Another source of the military said the operation was completely conducted by Mauritanian troops, without the involvement of other forces.

Mauritania has suffered attacks from AQIM fighters since 2006, when the infiltration of the group first surfaced in the Sahel- Sahara region.

In one of the cases, AQIM launched a suicide bomb attack near the French Embassy in the Mauritanian capital Nouakchott in August 2009. It was also held responsible for a series of kidnappings, mostly Europeans. The group is also linked to drug trafficking in the region.

The Mauritanian army has since intensified crackdown on the group, killing dozens of AQIM members in surprise raids, including last year's cross-border operation in the northern desert of Mali, where the group is believed to have bases.

In February, three AQIM members were killed on board a vehicle loaded with explosives 12 km away from Nouakchott, after an army unit in pursuit of them fired a shell in an pre-emptive attack