Early in 1999, Mauritanian authorities arrested more than a dozen people for alleged ties to bin Laden. All were later released without charge.
Another Mauritanian, Mohamedou Ould Slahi, was arrested in early 2000 for plotting bomb attacks against the United States that have been linked to bin Laden.
He had been living in Canada but left there in part because of an investigation into the alleged bomb plot against targets in the United States. He was released by Mauritanian authorities several days later.