Tunisia arrests high-profile terrorist Abu Huraira

Ahmed Adel

Terrorism is expanding in Tunisia, especially with ongoing unrest in North Africa, especially because of the turmoil in Libya.

Detention in Sousse

This expanding scope of terrorism was behind the latest arrest by Tunisian police of Abu Huraira in the coastal city of Sousse as he prepared to travel to capital Tunis.

According to preliminary investigations, Abu Huraira was on the road to meeting some fellow terrorists.

Abu Huraira’s arrest nipped an attempt to assassinate a number of Tunisian politicians in the bud.

Further details

According to the site of the Tunisian radio Shems FM, the man planned to travel from Sousse to the central state of Sidi Bou Zid and then to Tunis.

The site quoted security sources as saying that Abu Huraira was arrested on a taxi and then referred to a specialized counterterrorism unit.

Information trove

Abu Huraira joined terrorist organizations in the mid-1990s. In 1998, he participated in the kidnap of 17 foreign tourists. He then spent 17 years in jail in Yemen.

The man is wanted by Tunisian security agencies under suspicions of having links with a terrorist organization.

The security agencies also consider him an information treasure trove on terrorist organizations active in the Tunisian capital.

Hidden element

Tunisian security agencies believe that terrorists keep moving from one city to another in order to find a loophole for carrying out attacks.

Most of the terrorists hide behind the cloak of affiliation to the Ennahda Movement which offers a political cover to them.