TUNIS (Reuters) - The Tunisian National Guard said two of five Islamists who escaped from prison this week are believed to have carried out an armed robbery of a bank near the capital on Friday. Five Islamists convicted of killing two secular politicians and policemen escaped from jail on Tuesday in a rare security breach for the North African country, prompting the government to dismiss top intelligence officials. The robbery in the Boumhele near Tunis comes just as the tourism sector has begun to recover after years of stagnation due to jihadist attacks and the COVID pandemic. The five men included one who had been serving a 24-year sentence for the assassination of secular politicians Chokri Belaid and Mohamed Brahmi in 2013. Another of the five had taken part in violent attacks that have shaken Tunisia in the past decade.

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Persons: Kais Saied, Chokri Belaid, Mohamed, Tarek Amara, Nick Macfie Organizations: Tunisian National Guard, National Guard, Security Locations: TUNIS, Tunis, Tunisia, Chaambi, Algerian