Tunisia's ruling Islamist party Ennahda and its allies agreed on Tuesday to name diplomat Othman Jarandi as foreign minister in the new governing coalition, two coalition sources said.

President Moncef Marzouki asked Interior Minister Ali Larayedh on February 22 to form a government within 15 days after Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali quit following violent unrest over the assassination of an opposition leader.

"There is a preliminary agreement that Othman Jarandi will be foreign minister, and Abd El Hak Lassoued will replace the current defense minister Abd Karim Zbidi, who wants to leave," a coalition source told Reuters. A second source confirmed the development but declined to give details.

Jebali resigned after his own Ennahda party rejected his plan for a technocratic cabinet, excluding political parties, to prepare for elections later this year and calm unrest ignited by the killing of secular politician Chokri Belaid on February 6.