In Tunisia a suspect in the assassination of prominent opposition politician Mohamed Brahmi has been arrested.

He was named as Hmed el-Melki and was seized outside Tunis.

It is the second such police raid in the space of five days. On Tuesday the government said the suspected assassin of another politician Chokri Belaid was killed.

An interior ministry spokesman said there was a gun battle and weapons were uncovered during the latest raid.

Thousands lined the streets for the funeral of Mohamed Brahmi after his killing last July. The secular left wing politician had been a virulent critic of the Islamist party Ennahda. Three other people were arrested along with his suspected killer said the interior ministry.

The deaths of the two opposition politicians sparked protests across the north African state and eventually led to the then ruling Ennahda party handing over power to an interim government at the end of last year.