Two men arrested at a hotel in Bissau, the capital of Guinea-Bissau, have said that they took part in the killing of four French tourists who were shot at the side of a road in Mauritania on Christmas Eve.
Officials said that the suspects, who were both Mauritanians in their 20s, were apprehended on Friday.
Lucinda Barbosa, head of Guinea-Bissau's judicial police, said: "They confirmed their participation in the assassination.
"From a legal standpoint, they are still innocent ... But really, all the leads we are pursuing indicate that these are the key players in the deaths of the four tourists."
Extradition sought
The men are believed to belong to an Algerian-based terrorist cell affiliated with al-Qaeda, said Barbosa, marking the first time that alleged terrorism suspects have been arrested in the West African nation.
Bissau is located approximately 700km south of where the French family were murdered, while picnicking on the side of a road outside the town of Aleg.
Mauritanian authorities have identified the two suspects as 28-year-old Sidi Ould Sidna, alias Abou Jendel, and 26-year-old Mohamed Ould Chabarnou, alias Mouslim, said a high-ranking police official on condition of anonymity.
Sidna, the official said, was arrested in 2006 and charged with terrorist activities and links to the Algerian-based network al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb.
Chabarnou had tried to steal a car from a Russian diplomat in Mauritania earlier in the year, the offcial said.
"We are in contact with authorities in Guinea-Bissau to see to the extradition of these men."
French detectives
Three men are believed to have opened fire on the tourists, the third is believed to have fled to Algeria, said Barbosa, who explained that her information came from discussions with French authorities.
Four people, including two children, were killed on the spot, while a fifth tourist, an adult man, survived the attack and was flown to his hometown in France for treatment.
The killing of the tourists and an attack on a military base in the north of the country two days later, which left three soldiers dead, led to the cancellation of this year's Dakar rally.
Al-Qaeda claimed responsibility for the attacks on the Mauritanian troops and organisers of the rally said they had received directs threats from the organisation.