Al-Qaida case: Man sentenced to 5 years

A Mauritanian man was sentenced to five years in prison on Tuesday for his alleged affiliation with a group linked to al-Qaida.

Judge Khaye Ould Ahmedou said Haround Ould Habib will spend five years behind bars for belonging to the Algeria-based terror cell, Al-Qaida in Islamic North Africa.

He is believed to have been a member of the same cell as three Islamic militants who gunned down four French tourists in Mauritania two months ago. Habib was in jail at the time.

Prosecutors this month charged three Mauritanian men with belonging to al-Qaida in Islamic North Africa and murdering the French tourists. Two of the men were arrested in Guinea-Bissau and a third is a fugitive.

The judge said Habib spent a year working for Mokhtat Belmokhtar, also known as Belaouar, a regional chief of the Algerian cell who controlled the area near the Malian-Algerian border.

Habib also was convicted of furnishing computers, weapons and satellite phones to the terror cell, said Ahmedou.

After three attacks, including two that were claimed by the Algerian cell, Mauritania has arrested more than 20 suspected militants.

The killing of the four tourists Dec. 24 and a subsequent attack on an army installation prompted organizers of the Dakar rally to cancel the race for the first time. The race would have traversed the dunes of Mauritania, a sand-enveloped nation that has been relatively free of terrorism.

The third attack occurred this month when gunmen fired on the Israeli Embassy and a nearby nightclub, injuring three people.