Tunisia jails terrorist detainees for smuggling arms from Libya

Tunisia sentenced on Wednesday suspects to jail for plotting terrorist attacks in the country.

Three detainees were sentenced to four to six years and six were sentenced in absentia to six months to a year in jail. Fugitive suspects were given 48 years in prison and some could face the death penalty.

The case involves a number of suspects that had joined terrorist groups in neighboring Libya. They plotted with terrorists in Tunisia to smuggle weapons through the Tataouine border region to carry out attacks against security forces and the military.

One of the suspects was tasked with recruiting radicalized youths and sending them to Libya to receive weapons training before returning to Tunisia to carry out terrorist operations.

The majority of terrorists that had carried out attacks in Tunisia had received training in Libya. Among them was Tunisian Seifeddine Rezgui, the gunman behind the 2015 Sousse attacks that left 38 people dead.

Yassine Labidi and Saber Khachnaoui, the perpetrators behind the 2015 Bardo National Museum attack, also received training in Libya.

Source: Aawsat