New front in war on terror

Nouakchott, Mauritania

The U.S. is sending Army experts and defense contractors to Mauritania to help train local officials to combat terrorism. International think tanks have said the West African nation harbors al Qaida cells, and at least one of Osama bin Laden’s top lieutenants came from there. A $100 million U.S. program for Mauritania and other West Saharan countries will concentrate on improving border controls with Algeria, a hotbed of Islamic extremism. It will also aim to beef up security around the state mining company, which has lost hundreds of boxes of explosives to theft.