SAWT BEIRUT INTERNATIONAL

| 12 February 2025, Wednesday |

Extremist kills self, her baby in Tunisia suicide bombing

TUNIS: Tunisian authorities announced that a female suicide bomber killed herself and her baby during counterterrorism operations in a mountainous zone in struggling interior provinces.

According to a statement issued by the Interior Ministry on Thursday night, two other Islamic extremists were killed in the security operations.

In one operation, Tunisian forces were tracking an extremist group in the Mount Salloum area of Kasserine province. They killed one suspected jihadi, whose wife then killed herself by activating an explosive belt, the statement said.

The explosion killed her baby in her arms, while an older daughter also at the scene survived, the ministry said.

Authorities said it was the first time they had reported the presence of a woman among the jihadis taking refuge in the area.

In a second operation, in the Mount Mghila area, security forces killed a suspected leader of Tunisia’s Jund Al Khilafa brigade, the statement said. The brigade pledged allegiance to the Islamic State militant group and is believed to be behind many attacks in Tunisia in recent years.