On July 5, 2011, clashes broke out between Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and Mauritanian forces in Bassikounou, Mauritania.

Between 2005 and 2011, Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) had a stronghold in the Wagadou forest on the border between Mali and Mauritania.

On June 24, 2011, Malian and Mauritanian forces launched an offensive on AQIM in the forest to finally dislodge the group, killing several jihadists.

[1] According to a resident of Bassikounou, occupants of a car on the way to Vasaala raised the alarm about an imminent jihadist incursion.

They exchanged artillery and heavy weapons fire for an hour, with the jihadists withdrawing before Mauritanian airpower arrived.