Mauritanian police investigating the killing of four French tourists have clashed with gunmen in a battle which left two people dead, reports say.
A suspect who escaped from custody last week is thought to have been wounded during the shoot-out on the outskirts of the capital, Nouakchott.
One policeman and a suspected gunman were killed during the clash.
The French tourists' killing on Christmas Eve prompted the cancellation of the Paris-to-Dakar car rally.
Police were "80% sure" that fugitive Sidi Ould Sidna had been wounded during the battle and was in custody, a security official who asked not to be named told the French news agency AFP.
According to an unnamed medical source quoted by Reuters news agency, the fugitive was actually killed.
A Reuters reporter saw scores of heavily armed police driving out of the city on a road leading north after dark on Monday.
"It's a clash with the Salafists [Islamists]," one gendarmerie officer was quoted as saying.
Al-Qaeda link
The fugitive escaped last Wednesday just before he was due to go on trial.
He is believed to have escaped from a toilet in the courthouse in Nouakchott.
He and a co-accused, Mohamed Ould Chabarnoux, are suspected of killing the French tourists on behalf of al-Qaeda near the southern town of Aleg.
Sidi Ould Sidna was detained in neighbouring Guinea-Bissau after a manhunt across West Africa.
The four Frenchmen killed had been enjoying a family driving holiday. A fifth member of their party survived the attack.
Mauritania is a former French colony and its south enjoys relative stability.
The north of the country is generally regarded as less safe for travellers.
^ Back to top | BBC Sport Home | BBC Homepage | Contact us | Help | ©
~RS~q~RS~~RS~z~RS~30~RS~)