Al-Qaeda tries to regroup in Tunisia after Daesh setbacksThe killing of a senior Algerian militant by special forces soon after he slipped into Tunisia has raised concern that Al-Qaeda is trying to regroup in the North African state as rival Daesh has suffered major setbacks, security sources say. Kobi was on an apparent mission to reunite splinter groups of Al-Qaeda fighters in Tunisia, putting the army on alert for more infiltrations, a senior Tunisian security source said. Kobi was not the only senior militant sent to reorganize Al-Qaeda in Tunisia. AQIM's Tunisian branch, called Okba Ibn Nafaa, is fractured into four groups based in the remote, northwestern Kasserine and Kef mountains region near Algeria. Their command structure is dominated by Algerians while a rival group loosely associated with Daesh based in the same region is run by Tunisians, several Tunisian security sources say.

Source: The North Africa Journal February 07, 2018 21:56 UTC