Tunisia: ‘We are ready to counter any terrorist plot’

Tunisian Interior Minister Hisham El-Mechishi announced yesterday that “the security forces are ready to counter any terrorist plot that might take advantage of the state’s preoccupation with combating the coronavirus pandemic in the country.”

His statement came on the sidelines of a virtual exhibition entitled “Made in Tunisia” that the minister attended in the capital.

El-Mechishi added: “Our security forces are at the highest levels of preparedness, which has been demonstrated through the results we continuously achieve on a daily basis, including the recent elimination of two terrorist elements.”

Commenting on the threats against several MPs, he said: “We know very well that terrorist groups are trying to target political personalities or public facilities.”

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“We made sure to warn a number of deputies who were recently under potential terrorist threats which endangered their safety after conducting extensive investigations and evaluation studies regarding the seriousness of these threats and the degree of risk that they may pose, in anticipation of any emergency.”

The minister stressed that “the ministry will not take any kind of threat lightly, and will devote all the necessary means to securing targeted individuals and all citizens alike, in addition to any facility that might be endangered by a possible terrorist act.”

On 6 March, two suicide bombers detonated explosive belts near a security patrol in the vicinity of the US embassy in the Berges du Lac, Tunis, which led to the death of an officer and wounded four others.