A second Salafist activist, who was detained over the U.S. embassy attack in Tunis on Sept. 14, died in the early hours of Saturday from a hunger strike at a hospital in the capital, the official TAP press agency reported, quoting a justice ministry source.

Mohamed Bakhti, a well known Islamist hardliner who was also involved in last year's sit-in at the Faculty of Letters, Arts and Humanities of la Manouba, was the second Salafist to have died after Bechir Golli died on Thursday after a 58-day hunger strike over prison conditions.

Almost 150 people, mostly Islamic fundamentalists, were arrested following the attack on the U.S. embassy which left three people dead and scores injured.

In a statement broadcast on Friday, Justice Minister Noureddine Bhiri said that he had personally tried to persuade the two men of stopping their hunger strike, without success.