Tunisia: Militant cell dismantled in Kasserine province January 18

Event

On Wednesday, January 23, the Tunisian Interior Ministry reported a militant cell of seven suspected Islamic State (IS) members was dismantled in Kasserine province on Friday, January 18. The suspects were said to have been coordinating with Islamist extremist militants in the mountainous Algerian-Tunisian border region. Similar security forces operations targeting jihadist cells are possible in Tunisia over the near term.

Context

Islamist militants are active in some provinces of Tunisia, particularly in southern areas and along the border with Libya. The recent dismantling of IS terror cells and associated arrests of suspected militants in southern Tunisia follows the October 29 suicide attack on security forces in Tunis that wounded 26 people; the suicide bombing was the first attack in the capital since 2015.

Advice

Due to the terrorist threat, individuals across Tunisia are advised to remain vigilant and to report any suspicious objects or behavior to the authorities, particularly when visiting sites deemed especially likely to be targeted in an attack (e.g. public transportation, train stations, ports, airports, public or government buildings, embassies or consulates, international organizations, schools and universities, religious sites, markets, hotels and restaurants frequented by foreigners/Westerners, festivals, etc.). Certain Western governments advise against travel to the south of the country (i.e. regions on the borders with Algeria and Libya) due to the presence of armed groups.