Tunisia sentences nine militants to death

TUNIS: A Tunisian court has sentenced to death nine jihadists accused of having beheaded a soldier in 2016, a murder claimed by the Islamic State group, media reported on Saturday.

Tunisia hands death sentences to convicts mainly in trials related to national security under a 2015 terror law, despite a moratorium on capital punishment in place since 1991.

Friday’s verdict concerns the murder of army corporal Said Ghozlani in November 2016, in the Mount Mghila area near the border with Algeria. He was found beheaded in his home in that region, which is considered a hideout for jihadists.