Tunisia arrests 2 over 'coronavirus cough attack plot' on police station

Two men have been arrested over an alleged 'terrorist' plot to spread the Covid-19 illness to police officers.

1 min read

17 April, 2020

One of the arrested men was suspected member of an extremist network [Getty[

Tunisia said on Thursday that two men, including a suspected member of a jihadist network, had been arrested over an alleged "terrorist" plot to infect security force personnel with the novel coronavirus.

The suspected extremist is accused of having used his influence over supporters displaying symptoms of the virus, the interior ministry said in a statement.

The other accused, who was already under surveillance and required to report regularly to a police station, said that he was told to deliberately cough everywhere to contaminate officers during his visit, the ministry said.

Tests are being carried out to determine if the second arrested man is infected with the novel coronavirus, the ministry said.

Read also: IMF grants $745 million to Tunisia for coronavirus response

The two men were arrested on Monday in Kebili in southern Tunisia, according to National Guard spokesman Houssem Eddine Jebabli.

Tunisia, which has registered hundreds of coronavirus infections and several dozen deaths, has been under a state of emergency since a string of jihadist attacks in 2015.

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