DHAKA: Tunisia said on Thursday it had arrested four militants and seized arms and explosives in the southern town of Sidi Bouzid following increased security checks prompted by fears of attacks by radical Islamists during New Year celebrations.

The detentions followed the arrest of seven Salafists, or ultra-conservative Islamists, on Sunday in the western town of Kasserine.

‘The national police arrested four terrorists belonging to a banned organization on Wednesday night. A Kalashnikov piece, munitions and explosives were seized during the operation,’ Tunisia’s interior ministry said in a statement, reports The Straits Times.

Local media reports said police had exchanged gunfire with the militants in Sidi Bouzid on Wednesday night and that a police officer has been injured.

The ministry declined to confirm the reports.

BDST: 1933 HRS, JAN 02, 2014
Edited by Robab Rosan, Current Affairs Editor