Tunisia: 5 convicted terrorists captured and escaped from prison (official)

Five convicted terrorists who escaped from a prison near Tunis a week ago have been arrested, the Tunisian Interior Ministry announced on Tuesday.

"Various units of the national security, national guard (police, editor's note) and army forces were able to arrest four recently escaped terrorists at 5:00 am (4:00 GMT) on November 7," the ministry said.

According to the statement, the four were "entrenched on Mount Boukornine", a densely wooded area around 600 meters above sea level, some 30 km southeast of the capital.

The Ministry of the Interior also confirmed reports circulating on local media and social networks that "the first terrorist named Ahmed Melki was arrested on November 5 (Sunday) with the help of citizens in the Ettadhamen district", a deprived and densely populated area of Tunis.

When their spectacular escape from Tunisia's largest prison, in Mornaguia, north-west of Tunis, was announced last Tuesday, the Ministry had indicated that they were "dangerous individuals, liable (or already sentenced) to prison terms linked to terrorist cases".

Mr. Melki, nicknamed "The Somalian", was notably involved in the assassinations of left-wing opposition politicians in Tunis in 2013, claimed by extremist Islamists.