The bombing on Saturday in Nouakchott came three days after Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, who overthrew the Islamic state's first freely elected leader last year, was sworn in as president, promising to make the fight against al-Qaeda a priority.No group has yet come forward to claim responsibility for the attack outside the embassy walls, which a witness said caused no major damage to the building. The three injured included two embassy guards, France's Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
"France reiterates its determination to fight against terrorism together with the authorities and the people of Mauritania," it said. This summer has seen an upturn in violence in the normally peaceful former French colony.
"An attempted suicide bombing is a new event in Mauritania, we have to be wary of this new type of threat," a senior Mauritanian security official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. "From now on we will have to take extra security measures, but even so, there is no such thing as zero risk," he added.
