Kamel Ben Arbia (Jihadi Militant, Tunisia)

• Full name: Kamel Ben Arbia
• Pseudonym: Abu Fida
• Alternatives: Elyès Abu Fida
• Location: Tunisia
• Affiliation: Brigade of Uqba Bin Nafa’a [KUIN], Base Organization in the Islamic Maghreb [AQIM]

Kamel Ben Arbia is a little-known Algerian jihadi and senior operative of the Base Organization in the Islamic Maghreb [AQIM; Tanzim al-Qa’ida fi-Bilad al-Maghreb al-Islami].¹ In 2012, he was tasked with commanding fighters of the Brigade of Uqba Bin Nafa’a [KUIN; Katibat Uqba Ibn Nafaâ] on Mount Chaâmbi in Tunisia.² Under his leadership, KUIN militants carried out several attacks against security forces in the Kasserine governorate’s mountain ranges.³ Ben Arbia also oversaw the group’s procurement of explosives.⁴ He furthermore acted as a liaison between the KUIN and the AQIM’s leaders.⁵

Algerian security forces arrested Ben Arbia in the country’s Oued governorate in late July 2013.⁶ His followers avenged his capture a few days later when they killed eight soldiers in an ambush on Mount Chaâmbi.⁷ At the time of his arrest, Ben Arbia was allegedly involved in planning large-scale attacks in Libya and Tunisia.⁸