Mauritania gunmen target embassy

Unidentified gunmen have opened fire on the Israeli embassy in Mauritania, witnesses and officials have said.

 

Six men traded fire with embassy guards before shouting "Allah Akbar" (God is great) as they fled the scene, the Associated Press reports.

 

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Some people were wounded, police and emergency services told Reuters.

 

Last month four French tourists were killed while picnicking in Mauritania. The government blamed the incident on Islamist militants.

 

At least nine people were later arrested. Prosecutors said they were thought to belong to al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb - an Algeria-based group formerly known as the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat.

 

The attack led the French organisers of the Lisbon-Dakar Rally to cancel the event due to security concerns.