Tunisia closes mosques for security reasons
Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi declared a state of emergency on Saturday to give his government more powers following an ISIL attack on a beach hotel, where 38 foreign tourists, were killed.
The statement from the president’s office said Essebsi would give a speech on national television with more details at 1600 GMT.
In reaction to armed group recruiters, the government says it will close 80 mosques allegedly linked with extreme groups.
“For the moment, this was Ansar al-Sharia who were behind this,” said the Tunisian security source.
Last July, Tunisia launched a crackdown on mosques and radio stations associated with conservative groups following a deadly attack on its soldiers near the Algeria border.
Last July, the office of Prime Minister Mehdi Jomaa has said in a statement that the prime minister has decided to close immediately all the mosques that are not under the control of the authorities.