Tunisian authorities arrested cell contacting with fugitive terrorists

Tunisian Defense Minister Abdelkareem Zubaidi pledged emboldened support to the military establishment, in addition to securing the provision of adequate equipment for combating terrorist organizations. Overseeing the meeting of the armed forces coordinators, Zubaidi said that his priority was to head the Tunisian Ministry of Defense with the necessary equipment and improve the working environment, remaining fully prepared and vigilant for potential terrorist threats. The Tunisian military successfully confronted with the terrorist attack on Ben Gardane on 7 March 2016. Terrorists who attacked the border town with Libya suffered significant losses of life and had their plot thwarted. Tunisia’s military servicemen continuously monitored all potential terrorist threats and established a buffer zone on the eastern border with Libya and a closed military zone in the western center of Tunisia nearby where terrorist organizations threaten infiltrating into the country. Terror groups long made strong threats against Tunisia’s security and stability. In the same context, Zubaidi stressed the need to protect the areas of production of natural resources (phosphate and other energy forms) and considered it a priority for the national military during the next phase. In July, Tunisian President Mohamed Beji Caid Essebsi issued a presidential order allowing the military to secure natural energy sites and those concerned with national wealth production against social protests. The Tunisian Interior Ministry announced that in a “proactive and qualitative” security operation, forces were able to discover a takfiri terror cell operating in the province of Nabeul, 60 kilometers northeast of the Tunisian capital, and said its elements were in contact with other Tunisian terrorists. Through initial security investigations, interior ministry sources confirmed that this cell was planning to carry out attacks targeting vital institutions in Tunisia. Same sources pointed to the arrest of three terror-linked members accused of joining a wider web of wanted “terrorist organization.” The three arrested had in their possession documents on how to make improvised explosive devices and terror plot instructions for targets in Tunisia.