Mauritanian Security Pursues 'Sleeper Cells', Fears Return of Clashes with 'Al-Qaeda'

Mauritanian forces during a patrol in the desert (Mauritian Army)
Mauritanian forces during a patrol in the desert (Mauritian Army)
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Mauritanian Security Pursues 'Sleeper Cells', Fears Return of Clashes with 'Al-Qaeda'

Mauritanian forces during a patrol in the desert (Mauritian Army)
Mauritanian forces during a patrol in the desert (Mauritian Army)

The Mauritanian authorities announced that an anti-terrorism military unit carried out a special operation in a remote desert area, killing three of the four al-Qaeda members who escaped from the central prison in Nouakchott a week ago.

The fleeing prisoners were apprehended about 400 km northeast of the capital en route to a desert road used by smugglers leading to Mali.

A Mauritanian army source believed the terrorists most likely intended to head towards northern Mali, the strongholds of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb.

The source told Asharq Al-Awsat that they were in a four-wheel drive car, but it broke down, and they were spotted by locals, who informed security.

A battalion of the elite Mauritanian gendarmerie, trained in combating terrorism, participated in the operation with the support of army special forces and the Mauritanian Air Force.

A clash occurred between the two parties, resulting in the death of the three terrorists and the arrest of the fourth. A member of the Mauritanian gendarmerie was killed, according to the joint statement of the defense and interior ministries.

Meanwhile, President Mohamed Ould Cheikh El-Ghazouani offered his condolences for the death of the armed forces.

Ghazouani was referring to two guard members whom prisoners killed during the escape and the police officers killed during the clash.

The escape of al-Qaeda members who had been in prison for more than ten years, two of whom were sentenced to death, rekindled the threat of terrorism, knowing that the last terrorist operation in the country dates back to 2011.

The Mauritanian journalist, Sidi Mohammed Bellamech, confirmed that active sleeper cells helped the terrorists escape prison.

Bellamech told Asharq Al-Awsat that some terrorists provided the prisoners with a four-wheel drive car that took them from the prison, adding that dozens of people are linked to the terrorists.

According to Bellamech, Mauritanian security authorities believed the operation was essential for national security even if it involved losses, as it uncovered sleeper terrorist cells growing in the absence of the state.

The journalist concluded that this process is a turning point in the history of the Mauritanian state's dealings with the terrorism file, pointing out that a new security strategy must be implemented, reconsidering the dialogue mechanism with terrorists.

Mauritanian authorities maintained strict security measures in the capital and on the country's main roads, and the internet was cut on mobile networks.

Authorities are still looking for wanted persons involved in the escape operations.



Activist Aid Ship Nears Gaza After Reaching Egypt Coast

 Climate activist Greta Thunberg stands near a Palestinian flag after boarding the Madleen boat and before setting sail for Gaza along with activists of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, departing from the Sicilian port of Catania, Italy, Sunday, June 1, 2025. (AP)
Climate activist Greta Thunberg stands near a Palestinian flag after boarding the Madleen boat and before setting sail for Gaza along with activists of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, departing from the Sicilian port of Catania, Italy, Sunday, June 1, 2025. (AP)
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Activist Aid Ship Nears Gaza After Reaching Egypt Coast

 Climate activist Greta Thunberg stands near a Palestinian flag after boarding the Madleen boat and before setting sail for Gaza along with activists of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, departing from the Sicilian port of Catania, Italy, Sunday, June 1, 2025. (AP)
Climate activist Greta Thunberg stands near a Palestinian flag after boarding the Madleen boat and before setting sail for Gaza along with activists of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, departing from the Sicilian port of Catania, Italy, Sunday, June 1, 2025. (AP)

An aid ship with 12 activists on board, including Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg, has reached the Egyptian coast and is nearing the besieged Palestinian territory, organizers said on Saturday.

The Madleen, part of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, left Sicily last week with a cargo of relief supplies "to break Israel's blockade on Gaza".

"We are now sailing off the Egyptian coast," German human rights activist Yasemin Acar told AFP. "We are all good," she added.

In a statement from London on Saturday, the International Committee for Breaking the Siege of Gaza -- a member organization of the flotilla coalition -- said the ship had entered Egyptian waters.

The group said it remains in contact with international legal and human rights bodies to ensure the safety of those on board, warning that any interception would constitute "a blatant violation of international humanitarian law".

European parliament member Rima Hassan, who is on board the vessel, urged governments to "guarantee safe passage for the Freedom Flotilla."

The Palestinian territory was under Israeli naval blockade even before the October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas that sparked the Gaza war and Israel has enforced its blockade with military action in the past.

A 2010 commando raid on the Turkish ship Mavi Marmara, which was part of a similar aid flotilla trying to breach the blockade, left 10 civilians dead.

In May, another Freedom Flotilla ship, the Conscience, reported coming under drone attack while en route for Gaza, prompting Cyprus and Malta to send rescue vessels in response to its distress call. There were no reports of any casualties.

Earlier in its voyage, the Madleen changed course near the Greek island of Crete after receiving a distress signal from a sinking migrant boat.

Activists rescued four Sudanese migrants who had jumped into the sea to avoid being returned to Libya. The four were later transferred to an EU Frontex vessel.

Launched in 2010, the Freedom Flotilla Coalition is a coalition of groups opposed to the blockade on humanitarian aid for Gaza that Israel imposed on March 2 and has only partially eased since.

Israel has faced mounting international condemnation over the resulting humanitarian crisis in the territory, where the United Nations has warned the entire population of more than two million is at risk of famine.