Planned attacks on many hotels, buildings foiled

TUNIS — Tunisian security forces have detained nearly 20 people this month during "anti-terrorist" operations, foiling attacks on security buildings and hotels, a government source said on Tuesday. "Seventeen people have been arrested since the beginning of November in several security operations," the source told AFP. Those held, whose identities were not revealed, were preparing attacks on hotels or buildings used by the security forces, the source added. Without elaborating, the source said several of them had spent time abroad with members of militant organizations such as the Daesh (the so-called IS) group. The news comes after the Interior Ministry said Monday seven women have been arrested for posting propaganda on the Internet on behalf of the Tunisian affiliate of Daesh, Jund Al-Khilafa. It also follows an anti-terrorist sweep Sunday on Mount Mghilla in the center of the country after the gruesome beheading there by militants of a 16-year-old shepherd. One soldier and a presumed militant were killed during that operation, the Defense Ministry said. No group has yet claimed responsibility for the shepherd's murder. Thousands of young Tunisians have traveled to Iraq, Syria and Libya to fight alongside extremists, according to the authorities in the North African country. At home, Deash has said it was behind two attacks targeting foreigners — at the National Bardo Museum in March, killing 21 tourists and a policeman, and at a hotel in Sousse in June, killing 38 tourists. Dozens of members of the security forces have also been killed by extremists since the 2011 revolution that sparked the Arab Spring. Authorities say they have been particularly affected by the chaos in neighboring Libya, where Daesh has established a presence. Tunisia has begun building a border wall some 200 km long, with the aim of stemming the flow of contraband weapons across the frontier. — AFP