DW-World.de
Deutsche Welle

Mauritania's public prosecutor says five Mauritanian Islamists have been arrested, in connection with the murder of four French tourists. Police on Wednesday were searching for three Islamists said to have defected to neighbouring Senegal. On Tuesday, the French Foreign Ministry had countered speculation that the murderers might have terrorist motives. However, the Mauritanian authorities say they believe the shooting may have been the work of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb - a Sunni Islamist militia which aims to overthrow the Algerian government and institute an Islamic state. The attackers shot the five French tourists on Monday when they stopped their car on the roadside on the way to Mali.