On Wednesday, April 2, an Al Qaeda operative who participated in killing French Tourists escaped from a courthouse in Nouakchott Mauritania. He was allowed to go to the bathroom, then made the escape. The Police then started a huge search which led to the heavy fighting in Northern Nouakchott, the capital of Mauritania.
The shootings between Police and jihadists lasted several hours on Monday 7 April. And continued briefly on Tuesday morning 8 April.
The policemen in charge of gaurding the al qaeda terrorist, were disharged, aswell as the judge who allowed the suspect to go to the bathroom by himself.
Mauritania security forces find bomb-making facility after shootout
The Associated Press
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
NOUAKCHOTT, Mauritania: Security forces in Mauritania found a bomb-making facility in a house they stormed after exchanging fire with gunmen believed to have been involved in the killing of four French tourists in December, officials said Tuesday.
The gunmen, suspected of having links to the al-Qaida terrorist network, fled after a shootout late Monday that left two dead on the outskirts of the capital, Nouakchott.
Police who entered the home afterward found a "laboratory poised to produce explosives," said Mohamed Abdallahi Ould Adda, of the Islamic nation's judicial police force.
"We found an explosive device they were preparing to detonate in case the house was assaulted by security forces," Adda said.
At least three men managed to flee the villa before police encircled it, he said.
Among those believed to have escaped from the villa Monday was Sidi Ould Sidna, who was arrested in January in connection with the tourist killings. Last week, Sidna escaped from a Mauritanian courthouse after an interrogation session, tricking guards who believed he was inside a bathroom.
see more here:
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/04/08/africa/AF-GEN-Mauritania-Tourist-Killings.php 
