9 arrested in tourists’ slaying
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Authorities arrested nine people suspected of aiding a group that gunned down a French family last month, justice officials said.
Witnesses said three gunmen fired automatic weapons at the five French tourists who were having a roadside picnic Dec. 24 in Aleg, about 160 miles southeast of the capital, Nouakchott. Only the father survived.
The killings were cited as a main reason for last week’s cancellation of the Dakar Rally, a 5,760-mile car and motorcycle race that crosses the desert nation.
The gunmen are all still at large. No group has claimed responsibility, but Mauritania blamed the killings on a terrorist sleeper cell affiliated with Al Qaeda.
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