AhlulBayt News Agency

source : Press TV
Saturday

22 October 2011

8:30:00 PM
273703

Al-Qaeda leader killed by Mauritanian forces

Mauritanian military forces have killed a senior militant with alleged links to the terrorist al-Qaeda network in a recent aerial attack on a base in Mali.

(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - Mauritanian military forces have killed a senior militant with alleged links to the terrorist al-Qaeda network in a recent aerial attack on a base in Mali.

A senior military official in Mauritania's army, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that Tiyib Ould Sidi Ali -- a key member of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) -- was “eliminated” after Mauritanian soldiers conducted an air raid on a site in Mali's Wagadou Forest, located 110 kilometers (70 miles) from the border with Mauritania, on Thursday, the Associated Press reported on Saturday.

The Mauritanian army said AQIM, which is based in the Wagadou Forest, was preparing to mount an attack in Mauritania.

The senior leader of al-Qaeda's North African offshoot was wanted for his role in an attack in Mauritania in 2008.

In recent years, the Sahara region has seen a dramatic hike in the activities of smugglers and militants reportedly linked to AQIM, which has claimed responsibility for a number of attacks on foreigners in the area.

/129