They escaped from prison a week ago.. Three "terrorists" were killed and a fourth arrested in a security operation in Mauritania

Nouakchott -

The Mauritanian authorities announced on Saturday the killing of 3 "terrorists" and the arrest of a fourth during a security operation in the north of the country, about a week after they escaped from the civil prison in the capital, Nouakchott.

The Mauritanian ministries of defense and interior said in a joint statement that a member of the armed forces was killed during the security operation that took place in the state of Adrar.

The statement stated that locating the fugitives who had holed up in a rugged mountainous area was carried out in coordination between the air and ground forces, after the Supreme Security Committee in charge of following up the file suggested that they might be located in an area in the state of Adrar.

According to the same statement, the gendarmerie units specialized in combating terrorism, during the search for the fugitives, were subjected to heavy fire, as a result of which they entered into clashes with the terrorist elements.

Mauritanian army patrol on the Mali border (French)

suspicious car

The statement of the Ministries of Defense and Interior comes 6 days after the escape operation, when the four prisoners managed to escape from prison last Sunday evening after killing two guards at the central prison in Nouakchott and wounding others.

Abdi Ould Imhaihem, mayor of the "Al-Maddah" municipality of Awjft district in the state of Adrar, told local media that the arrival of the security services to the fugitives came after information was received about a suspicious car in an area 35 km from the municipality's center.

Ould Mhaihem added that the car carrying 4 armed men was out of order, explaining that the security operation involved a military plane and continued from Friday to Saturday.

It is noteworthy that two of the fugitives were sentenced to death and the other two were subject to trial.

In the past years, the Mauritanian judiciary issued death sentences against dozens of Salafist prisoners, after they were charged with bearing arms against the state, belonging to terrorist groups, and threatening the country's security and stability.