Tunisia accuses arrested militants of links to al-Qaeda

Tunis (dpa) - Tunisia‘s interior minister has accused an armed group that clashed with security forces in the centre of the country earlier this month of being linked to the al-Qaeda terrorist network, local media reported Tuesday.

In a statement minister Ali Laarayedh said 12 Tunisian suspected members of the group had been arrested after clashes with security forces in the central town of Bir Ali Ben Khalifa, near Sfax, on February 1.

The security forces shot dead two militants, both aged 27, and arrested a third after a gunbattle in which three soldiers and a national guard member were injured.

The minister said the 12 other men arrested since were found in possession of 34 assault rifles, a large quantity of ammunition and cash in Tunisian, Libyan and US currencies.

Nine other militants got away, he said.

Laarayedh accused the group of having links to al-Qaeda cells in Libya, Tunisia‘s neighbour to the east, and of sourcing their weapons from there.

Their aim was to set up "an Islamic emirate" in Tunisia, he said.

Countries neighbouring Libya have experienced an influx of weapons from last year‘s war.

Governments in the region fear the arms are making their way into the hands of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), or linked groups.

AQIM has carried out a spate of kidnappings in Niger and Mali in the past two years, and is also suspected of recent attacks on security forces in Algeria and Tunisia. dpa swi cfb hl Authors: Mounir Souissi, Clare Byrne