Germany agrees to deport Tunisian wanted over 2015 museum attack

BERLIN: German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said on Sunday that a Tunisian man wanted in his homeland for his possible involvement in a deadly attack on a Tunis museum in 2015 can be deported.

The man was arrested last month on suspicion of planning an militant attack in Germany.

In 2015 militants stormed the Bardo museum and killed 21 foreign tourists.

"I can confirm that the talks between us and the Tunisian side have been successful. The terrorist is sitting in custody and I expect that he will soon be deported," de Maiziere told broadcaster ARD for the Bericht aus Berlin programme.

The Tunisian, identified by German media as Haikel S., was arrested last month and is believed to have recruited for Islamic State here, German prosecutors have said.



He had lived in Germany for a decade until 2013 before re-entering the country to seek asylum in August 2015, five months after the storming of the Bardo museum, the prosecutors said.
Tunisian investigators suspect the Tunisian asylum seeker was involved in the assault and had issued a warrant for his arrest in June 2016.

Earlier Italy said it had expelled a Tunisian who might have had links with the man who killed 12 people in Berlin by driving a truck into a Christmas market.