Tunisian authorities announce the death of two Islamic State terrorists

Tunisian Ministry of Interior Spokesman Hossam Eddine Djababli confirmed the death of two senior terrorists in security operations in the country’s western Kasserine governorate.

The first eliminated terrorist, Bassam Al-Ghunaimi, who operated under the alias Abi Sakher Al-Zaqmout, is involved in a group of massacres of Tunisian citizens. He also participated in a number of terrorist operations that targeted the security forces and the army.

As for the second terrorist –who was wounded and was found dead the following day– he was called Hafiz Rahimi and belonged to the ISIS offshoot Jund al Khilafa.

Security forces seized Kalashnikov weapons, a large quantity of live ammunition, and night vision gear.

Ghunaimi has been involved with terrorists since 2013 but was officially recruited by al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb AQIM in 2014. In 2015, he defected and joined Jund al Khilafa.

The pre-emptive security and military operation was launched on Tuesday night, after the discovery of 3 newly used terrorist camps in the Kasserine Highlands area.

A heavy exchange of fire took place before Ghunaimi and Rahimi were killed.

In 2015, Ghunaimi partook in a terrorist attack that targeted a military unit. The attack resulted in the death of a soldier and the injury of others.

During the period between 2015 and 2019, Ghunaimi participated in the slaughter of Mabrouk Al-Sultani, Khalifa Al-Sultani, Tunisian soldier Saeed Al-Ghazlani, and Mohammed Al-Akhdar al-Makhloufi. In 2018, he led multiple robberies that targeted banking institutions in the city of Kasserine.

Ghunaimi was involved in raids against homes in the Kasserine Mountains. He was also responsible for planting mines that targeted security and military units, as well as the manufacture of explosives.

Source: Aawsat