THU 28 - 3 - 2024
 
Date: Feb 25, 2015
Source: The Daily Star
Tunisia arrests 100 suspected militants, signs of ISIS influence
Reuters
TUNIS: Tunisia arrested about 100 suspected Islamist militants in the last three days, some of whom were preparing attacks, officials said Tuesday, and published video footage showing evidence of an ISIS influence on some of those detained.

Tunisia is waging a campaign against hard-line Islamist groups who emerged in the country during its transition to democracy after the 2011 uprising against autocrat Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali.

News of the arrests comes a week after four Tunisian policemen were killed by militants in the central region of Kasserine, close to Algeria.

“In the past three days we foiled terrorist operations and arrested about 100 jihadielements,” said Mohammad Ali Aroui, an Interior Ministry spokesman.

Aroui said security forces had uncovered a militant cell in the city of Hammam Ghzaz preparing explosives to attack security buildings.

A video published by the Interior Ministry on Facebook showed the cell owned instructions for making explosives and a picture of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of ISIS.

ISIS has already expanded its presence in Libya, where it has exploited the absence of law and authority as rival militias fight, and there are fears it is seeking to expand its activities in the rest of North Africa.

In addition, Tunisia has been a major source of Islamist fighters travelling to Syria since 2011. The number of Tunisians fighting in Syria has been estimated at about 3,000. A few hundred have returned home, although many have been tracked down and arrested.

Among the Islamist militant groups to have emerged after the 2011 uprising is Ansar al-Shariah, which is listed as a terrorist organization by U.S. and European officials.

The main hotbed of militant activity has been the Chaambi mountain range bordering Algeria, where fighters took refuge after fleeing a French military offensive in Mali last year. Since then, Tunisia has deployed thousands of soldiers to the area.



 
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