Tunisian security forces have arrested the nephew of the Berlin market attacker Anis Amri and two other suspects, officials say.

The Tunisian interior ministry said the three, aged between 18 and 27, were members of a “terrorist cell”, and that they were detained overnight, reports the BBC.

Tunisian-born Amri, 24, was shot dead by police near the Italian city of Milan early Friday.

Monday's lorry attack on the market left 12 people dead and 49 injured.

The interior ministry statement said Amri's nephew - the son of his sister - had confessed that he had communicated with his uncle via the encrypted chat application Telegram to evade security surveillance.

It said the three-member cell had been active in the towns of Fouchana, outside Tunis, and Oueslatia near Amri's hometown of Kairouan, about 150km (95 miles) south of the capital.

BDST: 2149 HRS, DEC 24, 2016
SR