Mauritania registered its first suicide bombing Aug. 8 when an attacker blew himself up outside the French Embassy in the capital Nouakchott, injuring two security guards. The official Agence Nouakchott d'Information reported that the bomber was a Mauritanian. The country has seen growing attacks by al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) in recent months. Three Mauritanians were charged last week with murder in the presumed AQIM slaying of US national Christopher Legget. One was wearing an explosives belt that did not detonate when he was arrested in July. (NYT, Aug. 8)

See our last posts on Mauritania and the Sahel.

Please leave a tip or answer the Exit Poll.