Mali officials rejected Thursday claims that a vehicle used in a foiled bomb attack in Mauritania last month was registered in their country, and defended their efforts against extremist militants.
Al-Qaeda's north African wing claimed responsibility for the August 25 attempt to attack a military barracks in Nema, which was foiled when Mauritanian troops fired at the bomb-packed vehicle until it exploded.
"The vehicle from Nema was not at all registered in Mali," a senior Mali military source told AFP, rejecting a claim by a Mauritanian military official that it had carried Mali registration.
Security officials also defended Mali's efforts to combat terrorism after criticism from some neighbouring countries that it has been weak against Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).
"They accuse us of being weak in this fight. But where do the terrorists come from, what is their background, who are their accomplices?" asked one official, who asked not to be named.
"The fight against terrorism is not the work of Mali alone," he added.
Mauritanian military sources claim that the suicide bomber in the Nema blast, the only person to die in the foiled attack, had been trained at a "terrorist camp" in northern Mali.
Copyright 2010 AFP Global Edition
