Tunisia has detained eight individuals, including a female suspect, on the charge of direct involvement in a deadly ISIL-linked shooting assault that targeted Western tourists in a shoreline resort.

“Eight people with direct links to the carrying out of the operation, including a woman, have been arrested,” said the minister in charge of government relations with civil society, Kamel Jendoubi, in a Thursday press briefing in the capital Tunis.

Jendoubi further announced that “the whole of the network behind the operation has been uncovered,” but did not elaborate on whether more arrests are forthcoming.

Last Friday, 38 people, mostly British citizens, were shot dead by a gunmen, identified as 23-year-old student Seifeddine Rezgui, on the beaches of Sousse on the northern Mediterranean coast. The attack was claimed by the Takfiri ISIL terror group.

Jendoubi  further said the Tunisian government has deployed 1,377 armed security agents at hotels and on beaches,” adding that British authorities are also “assisting” with the criminal investigation into the incident.

“As part of the security cooperation between Tunisia and Britain, 10 British investigators are working on the probe,” Jendoubi said.

Earlier this week, local press reports in London stated that 16 senior Metropolitan police detectives, forensic specialists and family liaison officers had arrived in Tunisia over the weekend with more forces expected to join them in a bid to help with the probe and prevent further possible attacks.

MFB/MKA/HMV