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Christophe Ena / AP / SIPA

A young man was beheaded in the Kasserine region in central Tunisia, Tunisian authorities said on Sunday, attributing the "terrorist attack" to jihadists.

"The decapitated body of a young man was found in the region of Al-Soltanya, in the governorate of Kasserine, and it is likely that a terrorist group is behind the attack," AFP told AFP. Deputy Prosecutor General at the Tunis Court of First Instance, Mohsen Dali.

“The body belonged to a 20-year-old man named Oqba al-Dhibi,” said Mohsen Dali, adding that justice had taken up the case.

According to local radio stations, Oqba al-Dhibi, a shepherd, was grazing his sheep during the attack.

The Interior Ministry contacted by AFP did not give details of this attack.

Previous attacks

This is not the first time that a Tunisian has been beheaded by jihadists in the mountainous areas of central Tunisia.

In 2015, Mabrouk Soltani, 17, was beheaded by an extremist group, an assassination that shook public opinion.

Two years later, his older brother, Khalifa Soltani, was found dead during a search operation launched after the announcement of his kidnapping by a "terrorist" group, in the same region.

These two assassinations were claimed by the jihadist group Islamic State.

In a brief press release on Sunday, Tunisian Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi referred to a "terrorist operation", stressing that the war against this phenomenon "must continue unabated and with the same firm determination".

The rise of the jihadist movement

Tunisia was confronted after its revolution in 2011 with a rise of the jihadist movement, responsible for the death of several dozen soldiers and police, but also civilians and foreign tourists.

Even if the security situation has clearly improved, the country remains under a state of emergency since the suicide attack committed in the middle of Tunis against the presidential security (12 agents killed) in November 2015.

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