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Why these Tunisian border towns have become IS recruitment hotspots

The trying economic situations in Tunisia’s border towns have pushed some of their young residents to join terrorist networks, while others seek illegal immigration via the sea to Europe.
A Tunisian police officer stands guard near a police station after Monday's attack by Islamic State militants on army and police barracks in the town of Ben Guerdan, Tunisia, near the Libyan border March 8, 2016. REUTERS/Zoubeir Souissi - RTS9UV0
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Tunisian Mabrook Zaytooni’s family spent Eid al-Fitr hoping to find the body of their son who died in the Mediterranean Sea. Mabrook, just 25, drowned with at least 13 others attempting to sail to Italy. The boat, which had 28 passengers on board, sank as soon as it left the coast of the Libyan city of Sabratha on July 3.

All the passengers were from the city of Ben Guerdane, located far south on the border with Libya, where an attack left dozens dead and wounded in March. The perpetrators were militants with the Islamic State (IS), which wants to establish an emirate in the city. A large number of the IS members who participated in the attack were residents of the city.

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