Mauritanian Defense Minister Baba Ould Sidi said Tuesday that his country has foiled a coup plot to topple the government of President Maaouya Ould Taya, news from Nouakchott, capital of Mauritania, reported.

He said those army officers who had plotted the coup have been arrested and the situation is "totally under control" in the northwest African desert country.

A group of officers had planned to seize power during President Ould Taya's trip to France on Monday, Ould Sidi said in a statement.

The plotters intended to stage simultaneous attacks in the capital Nouakchott and other cities, while making plans to kill army officers who did not join them and to cut off telephone and electricity services, the minister said.

Military sources said 27 soldiers suspected of involvement in the coup plot, including three major plotters, have been arrested.

The sources said the suspects might get involved in the plot because of discontentment over the delayed trial of the soldiers detained for the June 2003 coup attempt.

The soldiers launched an abortive coup on June 8, 2003, which was put down after a fire fight that claimed 15 lives and left 68 wounded. Nearly 120 officers linked to the failed coup are still kept in prison, waiting for trial.

The sources said Islamist extremists were also suspected of involvement in the new plot. But moderate Islamists denied the involvement. "I did not know anything about such plans," Islamist leader Jemil Mansour said.

Life returned to normal in Nouakchott, where soldiers guarded the presidential palace and an electricity plant. Most soldiers were confined to their barracks nationwide.

Seizing power in a 1984 coup, Ould Taya won several successive elections with large majorities. In the 2003 presidential elections, he won 67 percent of support, but the opposition accused him of large-scale fraud.

Observers said Ould Taya's position was becoming increasingly fragile, because people did not see their living standards improved.

Critics accuse the government of corruption and crackdown on the oppositions.