[MAGHAREBIA] Tunisia dismantled a terror cell planning to deliver weapons, logistical equipment and ammunition to holy warriors holed up in Jebel Chaambi and Jebel Salloum, adjacent to the Algerian border.Twelve turbans were captured in separate operations, Interior Ministry front man Mohammed Ali Aroui announced last Friday (September 5th).
Security forces seized grenades, RPGs, technical manuals, ammunition, 18,000 dinars, generators, tents, military boots and a car to be used for moving the material to the mountains, Aroui said.
The group's leader, Algerian terrorist Khaled Chaieb (aka Lokman Abu Sakhr), is still on the lam.
The turbans were "receiving the support of people residing in neighbouring villages in exchange for important sums of money", Monia Mnou, the spokeswoman of the intelligence department at the interior ministry, told Magharebia.
"How else can we explain the ease of their movement?" Mnou asked. "Yet we managed to capture a significant number of them and are watching them," she said, noting that the intelligence services were growing stronger.
Last week, Constituent Assembly member Mohammed Ali Nasri survived an liquidation attempt at his home in Kasserine, not far from Jebel Chaambi.
The interior ministry stressed that the terrorist group wanted to block the electoral process. The parliamentary poll is scheduled for October 26th.
Ridha Sfar, the minister delegate in charge of security at the interior ministry, said on September 3 after meeting with Constituent Assembly head Mustafa Ben Jaafar that it was "not possible in practical terms to protect the city of Kasserine by lining up troops".
"The district of Hay Zohour is considered a sensitive area, especially since the governorate of Kasserine is surrounded by a series of mountains that makes it close to terrorist threats, but we must get used to dealing with such threats through concerted efforts," he continued.
Sfar added, "Threats are currently centred around the north-west along the Algerian border, and there is also a regional scheme to disrupt the electoral process in Tunisia. The situation of crisis in Libya also affects us negatively."
Alayia Alani, a specialist in terrorist groups, told Magharebia that staying away from political pressures was one of the reasons for recent security successes. He called on politicians to keep security forces neutral.