Nephew of suspected Berlin attacker arrested in Tunisia

Tunisian authorities on Saturday arrested three alleged jihadists, including a relative of the suspect of perpetrating a terror attack against a Berlin Christmas market, said the country's interior ministry in a statement.


According to the ministry, the nephew of Anis Amri, the man who was killed by Italian police in a shoot-out in Milan, was among those detained.

The three men were between 18 and 28 years old and had been arrested in the villages of Fouchana _ located 14 kilometers to the south of Tunis _ and Amri's birthplace, al-Waslatiyah _ located 140 kilometers south of Tunis.

Amri's nephew admitted he had been in touch with his uncle through the messaging app Telegram and had pledged his allegiance to the Islamic State jihadist group in a video.

The young man also said his uncle had sent him a large amount of money in order for him to travel to Germany and join a terror cell led by the "emir" Abu Alaa.

Those arrested have been charged with belonging to a terrorist organization, the ministry said.

Amri's attack against a popular Christmas market at Berlin's Breitscheidplatz was carried out on Monday, when he rammed a stolen Polish truck against the throngs of people attending the market.

The attack left 12 dead and 48 injured.

Amri was killed on Friday following a shoot-out with two Italian police officers in Milan.
 EFE
24/12/16
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