Tunisia says IS plot to seize territory foiled

Tunisia says it has foiled a “terrorist plot” aimed at allowing Islamic State group jihadists to seize part of its territory.

Authorities “uncovered a terrorist plot” targeting police and military units in the southern town of Ben Guerdane in a fresh bid to claim territory for IS, the interior ministry says in a statement.

In March last year, jihadists mounted a coordinated assault on security installations in the town on Tunisia’s border with Libya, aiming to win over residents and establish an IS “emirate.”

That attack cost the lives of seven civilians and 13 members of the security forces. Fifty-five assailants were killed.

The latest plot sought to “take advantage of social unrest… to help Daesh elements infiltrate our country in order to carry out terrorist attacks and try to seize security and military buildings,” the ministry says, using an Arabic acronym for IS.

Five people were arrested, it adds.

— AFP