Tunisia Thwarts Terrorist Robbery Scheme in Sfax

The Tunisian authorities announced Saturday the arrest of a terrorist cell in the city of Sfax, located in southeast of Tunis, that planned armed robbery of financial institutions.

The Tunisian Ministry of Interior said in a statement that "a tight ambush was prepared by the security forces, which led to the arrest of 3 terrorists from the cell."

The statement added that the detainees confessed during the investigations that they adopted the takfiri ideology and the permissibility of the funds of "non-Muslims", and they also admitted their intention to rob a bank branch in conjunction with the process of providing it with liquidity after preparing a tight scheme that reached its final stages through careful monitoring of the target and taking pictures of it and possession of a firearm to be used in control. The bank and hostage-taking in addition to the disruption of the safety and control system.

The Tunisian security authorities have recently been active in confronting terrorist threats, which they described as serious, against President Kais Saied and the institution of the presidency.

Since May 2011, Tunisia has witnessed, from time to time, terrorist acts that have escalated in frequency since 2013, claiming the lives of dozens of security and military personnel and foreign tourists.