Authorities in Tunisia have seized Turkish-made weapons they said were smuggled from Turkey to Libya before being discovered en route to the Tunisian town of Feriana in Kasserine, a region where the Islamic State and al Qaeda are active, pan-Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat reported.

Thirty-five assault rifles were seized along with a large amount of cash in a security operation in Bani Khedache in Medenine governorate, the newspaper quoted Interior Ministry spokesman Khaled Hayouni as saying.

Caretaker Prime Minister Youssef Chahed told police that the weapons were meant to be used in terrorist attacks in Tunisia, Asharq al-Awsat said.

Five people were arrested in the operation, but Hayouni did not disclose their nationalities, it said.

Turkey has been backing the U.N.-recognised Government of National Accord in Tripoli throughout its drawn-out conflict with the rival administration in the east of the country and the Libyan National Army led by General Khalifa Haftar. The Islamist GNA is backed by militias that its enemies say are linked to outlawed jihadist organisations.

Tunisian Interior Minister Hichem Fourati said security forces were taking measures to anticipate spill over from the conflict, which took a new phase last month when Turkey revealed plans to deploy troops and Haftar announced he would step up operations to seize Tripoli.

“All measures have been taken to prepare for any possible infiltration of terrorists on Tunisian soil,” he said.