# Tunisia receives $1 million in US counterterrorism equipment

- Link: https://www.military.africa/2026/11/tunisia-receives-1-million-in-us-counterterrorism-equipment/
- Published: 2026-11-09T08:34:08+01:00
- Author: Military Africa

The United States on 30 September handed [Tunisia](https://www.military.africa/tag/tunisia/)
security equipment worth about $1 million to help train and certify law enforcement
officers in crisis response and specialised security skills, the latest in a run
of American transfers to the North African country this year.

US Ambassador Bill Bazzi delivered the equipment to two bodies under Tunisia’s Ministry
of the Interior, the General Directorate of Intervention Units and the General Directorate
of the National Guard, [according to the US Embassy in Tunis](https://maghrebemergent.news/fr/les-usa-remettent-pres-dun-million-de-dollars-dequipements-securitaires-a-la-tunisie/).
The embassy did not disclose the type or quantity of equipment. The transfer falls
under the State Department’s Anti-Terrorism Assistance (ATA) programme, which provides
training and equipment grants to partner law enforcement agencies, helps them address
security challenges and aims to deter terrorist operations. The embassy said the
support would [strengthen security capacity in Tunisia and the wider region](https://www.lapresse.tn/2026/09/30/ensemble-nous-sommes-plus-forts-les-usa-renforcent-la-securite-en-tunisie-avec-un-don-dun-million-de-dollars/).

The Intervention Units and the National Guard’s special unit lead Tunisia’s armed
response to terrorist incidents, and both have trained under the ATA programme for
more than a decade. The delivery comes amid a steady rise in US military and logistical
support for Tunis.

## A Year of Steady US Deliveries

The September handover follows a similar ATA transfer worth $1.4 million. That equipment
was delivered in mid-December 2025 and [made public in January](https://adf-magazine.com/2026/01/tunisia-receives-counterterrorism-equipment-worth-1-4-million/),
when the embassy said that “the enduring US-Tunisia security partnership strengthens
the safety and security of both countries and advances regional stability.”

In January, Tunisia also [accepted an additional C-130H Hercules from US inventory](https://www.military.africa/2026/02/tunisia-accepts-additional-c-130h-hercules-from-us-inventory/),
adding airlift for moving troops and equipment to forward positions. It follows 
an earlier [C-130 delivery to the Tunisian Air Force in November 2024](https://www.military.africa/2024/11/united-states-delivers-c-130-hercules-transport-aircraft-to-tunisian-air-force/).

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In early June, the United States [transferred 48 armoured High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles (HMMWVs)](https://www.military.africa/2026/06/u-s-delivers-48-humvees-tactical-vehicles-to-tunisia/),
commonly known as Humvees, to the Tunisian Army at a ceremony at El Aouina military
base in Tunis. Humvees carry troops, conduct medical evacuations and perform combat
patrols, and are known for their reliability in extremely harsh environments. Armoured
versions can mount machine guns and grenade launchers. The vehicles are expected
to help counter smuggling and militant activity along Tunisia’s borders with Algeria
and Libya. Washington delivered its first batch of 52 Humvees to Tunisia in 2015.

On 24 June, Ambassador Bazzi commissioned an advanced radiation detection system
at the Port of Radès, the country’s largest port. The system, the first of its kind
in Tunisia, was [provided and installed by the US Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)](https://maritimafrica.com/en/?p=21450)
with Tunisia’s National Centre for Nuclear Sciences and Technologies, and is designed
to detect nuclear and radiological material moving through the port.

Larger programmes sit behind these handovers. On 27 April, the State Department 
cleared a [$95 million possible Foreign Military Sale (FMS) for Phase III of Tunisia’s Border Security Project](https://www.military.africa/2026/06/tunisia-procures-military-equipment-for-border-security-from-the-u-s-state-department/),
covering Border Reaction Unit vehicles, surveillance radars, thermal and perimeter
cameras, relay towers and microwave links for remote border areas, [The Defense Post reported](https://thedefensepost.com/2026/04/28/us-tunisia-border-security-deal/amp/).
In 2025, Tunisia also [joined the Javelin anti-tank missile user group](https://www.military.africa/2025/09/tunisia-join-javelin-missile-club-in-900m-us-army-contract-extension/)
under a US Army contract extension. According to the US Embassy, Washington has 
invested more than $1 billion in security cooperation with Tunis since 2011.

![US Ambassador to Tunisia Bill Bazzi and military officials watching a special 
forces demonstration at the African Lion 2026 closing ceremony in Bizerte (U.S. 
Army photo by Capt. Katherine Sibilla)](https://www.military.africa/wp-content/uploads/
2026/11/us-ambassador-bazzi-african-lion-2026-bizerte-sf-demo.webp)

US Ambassador to Tunisia Bill Bazzi (second from right), seated with Wyoming Governor
Mark Gordon, French Ambassador Anne Gueguen and Brig. Gen. Richard P. Cipro, watches
a special forces demonstration at the close of the Tunisian leg of African Lion 
2026 in Bizerte, April 2026. (U.S. Army photo by Capt. Katherine Sibilla) [Image
enhanced]

## A Persistent but Contained Threat

Tunisia has not suffered a major terrorist attack since May 2023, when a gunman 
killed two worshippers and three security officers at the Ghriba synagogue, the 
country’s oldest, on the island of Djerba. The threat, however, has not gone away.

On 3 January, security forces stopped a planned attack near the weekly market in
Fériana, in Kasserine governorate, killing the ringleader, Seddik El Abidi. The 
Tunisian-born militant was a member of the Jund al-Khilafa (Soldiers of the Caliphate)
battalion, an offshoot of the Islamic State (IS) group, the news agency Tuniscope
reported. Authorities arrested an accomplice and later detained ten more people 
linked to the plot. A security officer wounded in the operation later died of his
injuries, [according to the Jamestown Foundation](https://jamestown.org/residual-threats-from-tunisian-jihadists/).

Less than three weeks later, on 22 January, authorities dismantled a four-member
terrorist cell near Majel Bel Abbès, close to the Tunisian-Algerian border, also
in Kasserine. All four were killed, including a man who detonated a suicide vest
after refusing to surrender. The [Interior Ministry said](https://www.arabnews.pk/node/2630278)
all four were Tunisian and belonged to the same family.

Tunisia also faces insecurity on its Libyan frontier. Both borders carry risks of
weapons smuggling, low-level insurgency and militant infiltration into the mountainous
western zones around Kasserine and Sidi Bouzid. Groups linked to al-Qaida and IS
have a minimal presence in the country, but authorities still face threats from 
individuals radicalised online and must monitor and process former foreign fighters
who joined extremist groups in Iraq, Libya and Syria.

Tunisian authorities reported dismantling 62 terrorist cells and arresting 2,038
people linked to extremism in 2025. The nationwide state of emergency declared after
the 2015 attacks remains in force, and President Kais Saied extended it in January
to 31 December 2026. Analysts at Jamestown describe the remaining networks as fragmented
and localised, using the rugged terrain along the [Algerian](https://www.military.africa/tag/algeria/)
border as survival spaces rather than as platforms for national-level attacks.

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## Partnership Beyond Equipment

Tunisian Defence Minister Khaled Sehili in July expressed satisfaction with the 
level of military cooperation between Tunis and Washington, which he described as“
deep, diversified and constantly developing.” He made the remarks on 22 July when
he received Gen. Dagvin Anderson, commander of [United States Africa Command (AFRICOM)](https://www.military.africa/tag/africom/),
at the defence ministry, with Ambassador Bazzi in attendance.

Sehili told Anderson that the bilateral strategic partnership is not limited to 
logistical and technical support for the armed forces, but also includes training,
education and joint exercises. He also expressed Tunisia’s “interest in further 
developing this collaboration, exploring new opportunities in the transfer of defense
technologies and expanding cooperation in the strategic and intelligence sectors,”
according to a report by Italy’s Nova News online platform.

Anderson praised the countries’ strategic partnership and noted “the skills and 
training capabilities of the Tunisian army demonstrated during the African Lion 
26 exercise,” Nova News reported. He also pointed to the next session of the Tunisian-
American Joint Military Committee, scheduled in the United States in September, 
as an opportunity to review bilateral military cooperation.

[African Lion](https://www.military.africa/tag/african-lion/) is AFRICOM’s largest
annual joint exercise. Tunisia co-hosted this year’s iteration in April, its tenth
consecutive year as a host nation. The [Tunisian leg opened at El Aouina Air Base on 13 April](https://www.military.africa/2026/05/african-lion-2026-kicks-off-in-tunisia/)
and closed in Bizerte on 29 April, with around 560 personnel from Tunisia, the United
States, France and Italy training in counterterrorism, explosive ordnance disposal,
cyber defence and medical response. Across Ghana, Morocco, Senegal and Tunisia, 
African Lion 2026 involved more than 5,600 personnel from over 40 nations. In September,
Tunisia also hosted the multinational naval exercise [Phoenix Express 2026](https://www.military.africa/2026/10/phoenix-express-2026-tunisia-wraps-up-maritime-exercise/).

![Tunisian, French, Italian and US soldiers with national flags and armoured vehicles
at the African Lion 2026 closing ceremony in Bizerte, with a Black Hawk helicopter
overhead (U.S. Army photo)](https://www.military.africa/wp-content/uploads/2026/
11/african-lion-2026-tunisia-closing-ceremony-bizerte.webp)

Tunisian, French, Italian and US soldiers stand in formation during the closing 
ceremony of the Tunisian leg of African Lion 2026 in Bizerte, 29 April 2026. (U.
S. Army photo via DVIDS) [Image enhanced]

## Drug Trafficking and Transnational Crime

A new focus of security cooperation between Tunisia and the United States is the
fight against drug trafficking and transnational crime. A delegation of 14 Tunisian
interministerial officials from the security, education and healthcare sectors is
taking part in a US exchange programme, [hosted in part by Global Ties Detroit](https://www.webdo.tn/fr/actualite/international/lutte-contre-le-trafic-de-drogue-une-delegation-tunisienne-se-rend-aux-etats-unis/405188/).

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The group will travel to Boston, Massachusetts; Detroit, Michigan; Helena, Montana;
and Washington, D.C., to compare experiences and methods. The programme focuses 
on cooperation between law enforcement, judicial authorities, prevention services
and rehabilitation centres.

In Detroit, the programme will include studies on coordination between different
levels of law enforcement, joint investigations into drug trafficking at the US-
Canada border, and partnerships to investigate, prevent and treat addiction, Nova
News reported. Tunisia has made several large ecstasy and hashish seizures in recent
years.

## Securing the Algerian and Libyan Frontiers

The September handover is modest in value, but it fits a clear pattern. Washington
is equipping Tunisia’s Interior Ministry units for the domestic counterterrorism
mission, while the Humvees, the Hercules airlifters and the Phase III border package
strengthen the army’s hold on the western mountains and the Libyan frontier. Deliveries
under the $95 million border programme, which includes training, installation and
long-term sustainment, are the next step to watch.

For a major non-NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) ally of the [United States](https://www.military.africa/tag/united-states/)
sitting between a fragile Libya and Algeria’s restive border zone, the approach 
relies on capacity built at home rather than a large foreign presence. The low tempo
of attacks since 2023 suggests the model is working, though the January raids in
Kasserine show that small, determined cells can still mount plots that only early
detection will stop.

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