Tunisia says it has dismantled 150 militant cells in past 6 months

Tunisian police forces have dismantled about 150 militant cells in the past six months, a spokesman for the National Guard said on Saturday.

He added that some of the foreign militants arrested were planning to join "Jond Kilafha", a group linked to Islamic State in Libya and in the mountains on the Tunisian-Algerian border.

"Attempts of attacks targeting neighbouring countries were thwarted and a cell that was planning to stab the interior minister in the south of the country was dismantled," Houssem Eddine Jbebli told reporters.

The North African nation has been under a state of emergency since 2015, after an assault in which a number of presidential guards were killed.

Tunisian security forces have thwarted most militant plots in recent years and have become more efficient at responding to those attacks that do occur.