Mauritania

PARIS - The French military helped Mauritanian forces thwart an attack by suspected al-Qaida members in northwest Africa in an operation that left six extremists dead, officials said Friday.

NOUAKCHOTT, Mauritania - Three Spanish volunteer aid workers were kidnapped by gunmen while delivering supplies to impoverished villages in the West African nation of Mauritania, their organization said Monday, and Spain's interior minister said he suspected radical Islamists.

NOUAKCHOTT, Mauritania - A police official says three Spanish aid workers have been kidnapped in the desert nation of Mauritania.