Al-Qaeda fighters in Mauritania, on Sunday night, who languished for more than 10 years in a prison in the center of Nouakchott after being convicted of involvement in terrorist attacks, killed two members of the National Guard battalion in charge of security and protection of the prison and fled..
Army, presidential guard, gendarmerie, national guard and police units are deployed at important points and locations in the capital to protect them, while dozens of soldiers and security personnel try to hunt down al-Qaeda elements. classified as “very dangerous” and arrested to be returned to jail.
The two fugitive fighters were involved in attacks on an army barracks in Mauritania during a period of terrorism and confrontation with the organization between 2005 and 2011.
The Mauritanian Ministry of the Interior said that the process of searching for the terrorists who escaped from the central prison in Nouakchott has begun and that they will be arrested as soon as possible.
A statement from the Ministry of the Interior, released by the (official) Mauritanian news agency, urged citizens to report any information that could help in the arrest of terrorists by calling the security green numbers.
The Ministry of the Interior said in a statement that “At around 21:00 today, Sunday, March 05, 2023, 4 terrorists managed to escape from the central prison in Nouakchott after they attacked the guards, which led to an exchange of fire, during where two members of the National Guard were killed and two members of the National Guard were martyred. Two were slightly wounded.”
Identities of al-Qaeda fighters who escaped from prison
1. Similar to Muhammad al-Rasul: convicted of carrying weapons against Mauritania and committing attacks with intent to kill and sentenced to death. Participated in the attack on the Lamgiti base near the border with Algiers in 2005.
2- Sheikh Al-Salik: Convicted of high treason and carrying weapons, he was sentenced to death after participating in the Nouakchott terrorist operation in 2011.
3- Muhammad Mahmoud Muhammad Yaslam: Convicted of attempting to join an assembly to commit terrorist offences, sentenced to 10 years in prison and imprisoned since 2020.
4- Abu Bakr al-Siddiq Abdul-Karim: convicted of attempting to form an assembly for the purpose of committing terrorist crimes and studying abroad, sentenced to 7 years in prison and imprisoned since 2021.
