Nouakchott: A 30-year-old Briton has been arrested by Mauritanian security forces in western Africa when he tried to join armed Islamist groups in Mali, Xinhua reported Thursday.

Ahmed Chahine was first spotted in the historic town of Oualata, 1,000 km east of Nouakchott, where he presented himself as a researcher, before disappearing.

He was again spotted Wednesday by travellers who informed security officers at Nema in the east of the country, and officials later proceeded to detain him.

Questioned by Mauritanian security forces, the man confessed that he was attempting to go to Timbuktu in northern Mali to join Islamic fighters allied to the Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).

IANS