Search Results for: TUNISIA

Multiple reports have confirmed that the secular party Nidaa Tounes has defeated the Islamist party Ennahda (83 seats vs. 68) in Tunisia’s historic elections.

There was high voter turnout for the first general election under Tunisia’s new constitution. The secular party Nidaa Tounes has taken the lead in parliament, winning 80 seats versus 67 seats for the Islamist party Ennahda, according to a preliminary ballot count from a “party source.”

Tunisian forces stormed a home held by armed militants in Tunis and killed six people, ending a day-long stand-off that began with an antiterrorism raid and gunfight that killed one policeman.

Two shootouts with “suspected militants” just prior to Tunisia’s national election left two people dead, including a policeman and a bystander, and one policeman injured.

In the wake of recent political freedom in Tunisia, the country has “sent more foreign fighters than any other country to Iraq and Syria to join the extremist group that calls itself the Islamic State.” Elections and security in the western city of Kasserine are imperiled by the growth of jihadist groups in the area. […]

Six “smugglers” who were arrested in Ben Guerdane are now accused of supporting “terrorist” activities. The six men are accused of recruiting Salafists to wage jihad in Libya and Syria. Their group affiliation has not been disclosed.

Seven soldiers were injured in a clash with religious extremists near a national guard station in Douz in Kaybelie following the arrest of an extremist. Security forces arrested five Salafists in a raid on a mosque in Douar Hicher in Mandouba; and two more in Meknassi in Sidi Bouzid who had explosives, military uniforms, and […]

The Interior Ministry announced the arrest of 12 more terrorists from the Sidi Bouzid area; 12 others were arrested previously in two raids on Sept. 5. Three people were arrested in Kef yesterday for unauthorized use of hunting rifles. The NCA approved four new draft antiterrorism provisions, but faces an uphill battle to complete the […]

Security forces are increasing vigilance against terrorist attacks during the runup to elections in October; officials have claimed that over 1,700 terrorists were arrested in Tunisia between Jan. 1 and July 31. Authorities in Sidi Bouzid arrested two arms traffickers for an extremist group yesterday and confiscated quantities of RPGs, grenades, and ammunition from their […]

The Interior Ministry said six gunmen had attempted to kill parliament member Mohamed al Nasri at his home in Kasserine, but he had escaped after jumping into a neighbor’s courtyard and breaking his leg. Islamists assassinated two secular politicians in Tunisia last year. Salafists tried to attack a national guard member in his home in […]

A hospital treated 10 Salafists injured by buckshot during a confrontation with two other people in Kasserine. Earlier this week, national guard forces in Kasserine arrested eight people linked to the Jebel Chaambi terrorists. The antiterrorism unit arrested three women for supporting and providing comfort to Jebel Chaambi terrorists; one of the women is the […]

In addition to selling 12 Black Hawk helicopters to Tunisia, the US plans to give Tunisia $60 million in military aid to bolster its battle against Islamist militants. The Defence Ministry said planes spotted over Tunisia’s southern border with Libya were Tunisian aircraft conducting routine border patrols. Religious Affairs Minister Mounir Tlili said 25 mosques […]

Police fired at a car that was ignoring signals to stop at a checkpoint in Kasserine, killing two children who were passengers in the vehicle; the Interior Ministry said the roadblock had been set up to intercept an armed group that was traveling by car to Kasserine. Security forces seized nine Tunisian vehicles at the […]

For security reasons, the Transport Ministry canceled all flights coming from Mitiga, Misrata, and Sirte airports in Libya. The Interior Ministry announced the arrest of seven terrorists earlier this week; four were detained in Gabes as they tried to flee into Libya, and three others in Medenine. The suspects in Medenine were thought to be […]

The US donated 10 tons of personnel protective gear “to support Tunisia’s fight against terrorism and … to help Tunisia succeed in its transition to democracy,” and promised to “make available to the Tunisian Air Force 12 UH-60M Blackhawk helicopters to aid in the fight against terrorism.” A firefight broke out in Fernana on Aug. […]

The Interior Ministry announced the arrest of 21 people belonging to five armed groups linked to Ansar al Sharia, after raids in Tunis, Soukra, Dar Fadhal, Raoued, and Kram. The suspects were allegedly planning attacks, including “bombing of civil security and military targets,” on politicians, security officials, journalists, and “sensitive sites” in Tunis. Security forces […]

Security forces arrested three terrorists last night in Régueb in Sidi Bouzid; they are allegedly associates of Afif Lamouri, an Ansar al Sharia leader in Sidi Bouzid who was arrested on July 31. A Tunis court today issued a warrant for the arrest of Lamouri, a communications official for the terror group. Security forces raided […]

Police took custody of 17 radical Islamists in Sousse who had violently interfered with preaching at a mosque. Tunisian and Egyptian authorities tried to speed up the evacuation of 6,000 Egyptians fleeing Libya into Tunisia for eventual return to Egypt. Tunisian authorities are seeking ways to prevent terrorists from entering the country from Libya. A […]

Security forces on patrol in Fouzaia in the governorate of Jendouba clashed with a terrorist group yesterday. Terrorists attacked security forces in Ain Debba in Jendouba. The Tunisian Red Crescent denied reports that a Tunisian doctor was killed in an Israeli raid in Gaza. Syphax Airlines, a private Tunisian carrier, denied “rumors” that it had […]

Foreign Minister Hamdi threatened to close the Ras Jadir and Wazin-Dehiba border crossings, as at least 5,000 people per day have been entering Tunisia from Libya through Ras Jadir recently, and he ordered stepped up security at Ras Jadir. The Defense Ministry accepted the July 23 resignation of army chief General Mohamed Salah Hamdi, who […]

Security forces arrested Mohamed Anis Chaieb, a wanted leader of the banned terrorist group Ansar al Sharia, in Mahdia yesterday. Warrants of committal were issued for six people in El Kef who had celebrated the recent killing of 15 soldiers in Jebel Chaambi. Eleven Tunisians who were kidnapped in Boukamech, Libya, returned to Tunisia.

Security forces arrested over 60 suspected militants in raids in Kasserine, Sidi Bouzid, and El Kef, including Makram Mouelhi, 34, head of an armed terrorist group in Garn Halfaya. In a crackdown on militant Islam, the government ordered the closure of all mosques not regulated by the government, as well as those mosques where celebrations […]

The Tunisian military announced that 14 soldiers were killed and 23 were wounded in attacks by two terrorist teams on military checkpoints on Mount Chaambi; one terrorist was killed. The death toll is reportedly the highest since the military’s formation in 1956. The Okba Ben Nafaa Brigade has claimed the attack; Tunisian authorities have said […]

Security forces in Aouina and Sidi Bouzid uncovered a terrorist network that smuggles hunting guns from Libya into Tunisia. The Interior Ministry is seeking to arrest three suspected terrorists: Tunisian national Hichem Ben Mohamed Ben Abderrazzek Berrebeh, and Algerian citizens Khaled Hamadi Chaied and Mohamed Amine Mahkouka. Arrest warrants have been issued for six of […]

Police and Salafists clashed in Kef. Following the Hizb ut-Tahrir party’s June conference on “Establishment of the Caliphate and Removal of Colonialism,” Prime Minister Jomaa accused the group of calling for violence and failing to respect the values of the republic. Citizens had demanded action against Hizb ut-Tahrir after its leader branded a leading Tunisian […]

The government raised the terrorism alert level following the recent deaths of 10 soldiers in two landmine explosions in El Kef. The army launched an operation in the Mount Ouergha area of El Kef yesterday. Four Islamist extremists faced charges on July 5 in Bizerte for violating the law on mosques.

Following the death of six security forces in a landmine blast yesterday, four more soldiers were killed by a landmine today in Ksar el-Gallel in Kef. The military claimed to have destroyed a hideout for terrorist groups in Mount Ouergha and to be actively searching for the “terrorist elements.” A young man died in a […]

Kidnapped Tunisian diplomats Mohamed Ben Cheikh and Aroussi Gontassi returned to Tunisia on June 29; they were held by Ansar al Sharia, which had been demanding the release of two Libyan Islamist militants held in Tunisian prisons. Tunisian officials denied that any “Libyan terrorists” had been released but said they had information about the kidnappers […]

A video surfaced showing Tunisian jihadist Abu Hamza al-Mouhamadi participating in the mass execution of Iraqi troops by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham. Interior Minister Jeddou recently said that some 2,400 Tunisian jihadists are fighting in Syria, most of them in ISIS or in al Qaeda’s Syrian branch, the Al Nusrah Front. […]