Mauritania

Gunmen shot and killed a U.S. aid worker in the capital of Mauritania, an ally of the West in its fight against growing Al Qaeda activity in northwest Africa and the Sahara Desert. A top official from the military government said the attack and the threat of terrorism showed how important it was to ensure the army was not sidelined as Mauritania prepares for elections to restore democracy next month under pressure from donors. The American, the director of an aid group, was shot in the head in the center of the usually quiet city of Nouakchott.

An Al Qaeda affiliate claimed responsibility for a shooting attack on the Israeli Embassy, saying it was retaliating against Israeli policies in the Gaza Strip, an Arab TV station reported. At least one gunman opened fire in the capital, Nouakchott, setting off a gun battle with guards that wounded three bystanders. No embassy staff were hurt. Al Jazeera reported that Al Qaeda in Islamic North Africa had issued a statement saying it had carried out the attack.

The elected president of Mauritania was ousted Wednesday in a bloodless military coup that appeared to spell the end for the Arab nation's experiment in democracy. A council led by a military commander ousted President Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi and placed him and other government officials in the North African country under house arrest. There were no reports of gunfire or violence.

The general who toppled Mauritania's government led a triumphal march through the capital, Nouakchott, declaring that he is "determined to save democracy" as police elsewhere in the city fired tear gas at people protesting the coup. Gen. Mohamed Ould Abdelaziz's takeover returned military rule to the desert country that last year held its first election regarded as free and fair in more than 20 years. Mauritania won international praise for that vote, which saw President Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi elected after a two-year transition to civilian rule that began with the army's 2005 ouster of a dictator.

The African Union will suspend Mauritania until democracy is restored in the West African nation where soldiers overthrew the president this week, AU chair Tanzania said. Tanzanian Foreign Affairs Minister Bernard Membe said Mauritania had signed several AU conventions banning illegal changes of government, including one last month. Soldiers led by the presidential guard overthrew Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi, the country's first democratically elected president, on Wednesday after he tried to sack senior officers.

Passengers overpowered a hijacker who had commandeered a Mauritanian plane when he was knocked off his feet during a hard landing, a source close to the Mauritanian presidency said. The Air Mauritania Boeing 737 was on a domestic flight with 71 passengers and eight crew members when the hijacker, armed with pistols, demanded to be flown to France, officials said. The pilot landed in Spain's Canary Islands instead, where police arrested the suspect.

Four members of a French family were killed during a robbery in eastern Mauritania, police said. The four, who were on a picnic, were robbed at gunpoint and then sprayed with automatic weapons fire, said Mohammed Ould Lemine, police chief of Aleg, a town 150 miles east of Mauritania's capital, Nouakchott. The father of the family survived the attack, but was seriously injured and is being treated at a nearby hospital, Lemine said. Two children were among the dead. No identities were released.

Two dozen hungry, thirsty Africans were rescued from the Atlantic Ocean on Friday, 11 days after their Europe-bound vessel foundered far from Mauritania's shore. One of the passengers said they had been drinking seawater for a week. "They were determined to reach Europe with this little boat, but it brought them together for a collective suicide," said Hacen Ould Ahmed, the navy commander whose sailors found the migrants' boat about 100 miles offshore.

Mauritania's defense minister said Algerian insurgents had attacked an army base in his country's northern desert, setting off a gun battle that left at least 24 people dead. President Maaouya Ould Sid Ahmed Taya, who has survived several coup bids during his 20-year reign, called an emergency meeting of his commanders.

The military overthrew Mauritanian President Maaouya Ould Sid Ahmed Taya and said it would rule for up to two years. Hundreds of people took to the streets in celebration of the coup against Taya, who was out of the country. The rally reflected frustration at what opponents called his repressive rule. State radio said the military council would be headed by Col. Ely Ould Mohammed Vall.