Tunisia dismantles cell recruiting women for jihadists

12/21/2015 12:05:40 PM

(MENAFN- The Peninsula) A member of the Tunisian special forces stands at the entrance of the Bardo Museum on March 20 2015 in Tunis two days after gunmen attacked the museum. AFP

Tunis: Tunisia said on Monday it has dismantled a cell in the northern region of Bizerte recruiting women to marry jihadists fighting abroad and has made four arrests.

The interior ministry said in a statement that anti-terrorist units led the operation to bust the "takfiri" radical Sunni Muslim network without saying when the arrests took place.

The suspects had been "recruiting young people especially girls to send them to conflict zones for marriage to terrorist elements there" it said.

Tunisian authorities have stepped up arrests since a November 24 bomb attack on a bus in Tunis claimed by the Islamic State jihadist group killed 12 presidential guards.

An estimated 6000 Tunisians have travelled to Syria Iraq and Libya to join jihadist organisations. Tunisia's minister for women's affairs Samira Merai has said that number includes around 700 women.

AFP

Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.