Eight people arrested in Tunisia for jihadist attack

Tunis

Tunisia has arrested eight people in connection with last week's jihadist massacre at a seaside resort, as the remains of more slain Britons were flown home Thursday.

Friday's attack saw 23-year-old student Seifeddine Rezgui gun down 38 foreign tourists, including 30 Britons, after pulling a Kalashnikov assault rifle from a beach umbrella at the resort of Port El Kantaoui, near Sousse.

It was the worst ever massacre in Tunisia and saw Britain's worst loss of life in such an attack since the July 2005 London bombings. "Eight people with direct links to the carrying out of the operation, including a woman, have been arrested," said Kamel Jendoubi, the minister who heads a crisis group set up after the attack.

"The security services have been able to... uncover and destroy the network that was behind this operation," Jendoubi told a news conference, without elaborating on their alleged role. Jendoubi said British authorities were assisting with the investigation.

"As part of the security cooperation between Tunisia and Britain, 10 British investigators are working on the probe," he said. Tunisia fears the attack  which also claimed the lives of three people from Ireland, two from Germany and one each from Belgium, Portugal and Russia will damage its tourism industry.

The sector accounts for about seven percent of gross domestic product in a country already suffering from the upheaval that followed the 2011 overthrow of dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.

After the attack  which was claimed by the jihadist Islamic State group, Tunisia's government pledged to boost security around hotels, beaches and attractions.Jendoubi said 1,377 extra armed security officers had been deployed to reinforce police already on the ground.