A Tunisian court has sentenced a member of the terrorist group Ansar al-Sharia to 14 years in prison after his capture in Libya and extradition to Tunisia. The militant had specialized in training extremists at camps in Sabratha, western Libya, between 2013 and 2017 — a period when the coastal city became a notorious hub for jihadist networks.
According to Tunisian judicial sources, the convict had been preparing to travel from Libya to Syria to train ISIS fighters when he was intercepted by Libyan security forces. His arrest, and eventual handover to Tunisian authorities, was the result of close cooperation between security agencies in both countries aimed at dismantling cross-border militant networks.
The case highlights Libya’s continued role — both as a former safe haven for extremists and as an active partner in counterterrorism operations. Sabratha, in particular, was once a staging ground for foreign fighters heading to Syria and Iraq, hosting training facilities linked to multiple attacks in North Africa and Europe.
During his trial in Tunisia, the defendant admitted to the charges, including training recruits in weapons use and combat tactics. His conviction is seen as a success in ongoing regional efforts to curb the movement of fighters across the Libya–Tunisia border and prevent the resurgence of terrorist enclaves.
Ansar al-Sharia, banned in Tunisia in 2013, was led by Seifallah Ben Hassine (Abu Iyadh), who fled to Libya before being killed in a US airstrike in Mali in 2019. The group’s Libyan training camps were dismantled following joint security operations, but the legacy of their networks still poses challenges.
