9 arrested in tourists’ slaying

Authorities arrested nine people suspected of aiding a group that gunned down a French family last month, justice officials said.

Witnesses said three gunmen fired automatic weapons at the five French tourists who were having a roadside picnic Dec. 24 in Aleg, about 160 miles southeast of the capital, Nouakchott. Only the father survived.

The killings were cited as a main reason for last week’s cancellation of the Dakar Rally, a 5,760-mile car and motorcycle race that crosses the desert nation.

The gunmen are all still at large. No group has claimed responsibility, but Mauritania blamed the killings on a terrorist sleeper cell affiliated with Al Qaeda.