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Despite security gains, IS still seeking foothold in Tunisia

The discovery of warehouses filled with heavy weapons in Tunisia's border area reveal that the Islamic State and its affiliates are still active despite the security crackdown on them.

Tunisian soldiers stand guard at the scene of an assault on a house outside the town of Ben Guerdane near the border with Libya on March 3, 2016.
Five militants who were killed by Tunisian forces near the Libyan border had slipped across with the intention of carrying out "terrorist attacks", Prime Minister Habib Essid said.

 / AFP / FATHI NASRI        (Photo credit should read FATHI NASRI/AFP/Getty Images)
Tunisian soldiers stand guard at the scene of an assault on a house outside the border town of Ben Guerdane, Tunisia, March 3, 2016. — FATHI NASRI/AFP/Getty Images

Four warehouses containing large quantities of weapons were discovered over the past days in the Tunisian town of Ben Guerdane on the border with Libya. On Nov. 12, the Tunisian Ministry of Interior announced that there is a weapons warehouse in one of the olive forests in the city. On the same day, the ministry unveiled a second underground store containing war material, including rocket-propelled grenade launchers.

On Nov. 13, the ministry said it discovered a third warehouse in the city containing a large quantity of arms and ammunition, including SAM7 missiles. On Nov. 14, security forces uncovered a fourth store in the Amiriyah neighborhood in the city of Ben Guerdane. While such discoveries show that jihadi groups in Tunisia still enjoy a margin of movement and are planning to establish an emirate, they also mark a great security success for Tunisian authorities.

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