Extremists slit throat of Tunisian police officer

Tunisia's interior ministry says Islamist extremists have slit the throat of a police officer and knifed him in the heart as he returned from work.

A ministry statement said the officer was attacked early yesterday on his way home in a rural zone in Zaghouan, about 40km from Tunis.

A spokesperson for the union overseeing security, Mounir Khemili, said the attackers also used a sabre to cut off of his right hand finger.

In December, a National Guard member was beheaded in Kef near the Algerian border where security forces have been fighting extremists holed up in the mountains.

Despite sporadic attacks, Tunisia elected a new president, Beji Caid Essebsi, last month.

News24