Tunisian authorities detain six for 'recruiting terrorists abroad'

Tunisia security forces break up a six-member cell that has been recruiting terrorists to fight with militant groups abroad, the interior ministry said on Saturday.

MENA

2 min read

The New Arab & agencies

12 February, 2017

Authorities have cracked down on extremists since a November 2015 attack [Getty]

Tunisian security forces have broken up a six-member "terrorist cell" who had been recruiting people to fight with extremist groups abroad, the interior ministry said on Saturday.

A statement said the six were arrested on Friday in the Monastir region in the east of the North African country.

The suspects, aged between 19 and 51, admitted being in contact with Islamic State group in neighbouring Libya and recruiting Tunisians to fight in Syria, it said.

The six also said that they themselves had undergone clandestine "military" training "with the aim of joining jihadist groups abroad", it added.

According to the United Nations, more than 5,500 Tunisians, mostly aged between 18 and 35, have joined extremist organisations in conflict-riddled Syria, Iraq, Libya, Yemen and Mali.

The Tunisian authorities put the number at nearly 3,000.

Last month, parliament voted to set up a commission of inquiry into "jihadist channels" and their recruitment.

Since the 2011 Tunisian revolution that sparked the Arab Spring, the country has experienced a rise in militant activity that has killed more than 100 soldiers and police, some 20 civilians and also 59 foreign tourists.

Authorities have cracked down on extremists since a November 2015 attack in central Tunis killed 12 members of the presidential guard and a March 2016 attack on the town of Ben Guerdane near the border with Libya.

There has also been a state of emergency in force continuously since the end of 2015.