In 1573 Kılıç Ali Pasha commanded the naval campaign on the coasts of Italy. In that same year, the regency of Algiers was transferred to Arab Ahmed, and Don Juan of Austria, the victor of Lepanto, recaptured Tunis. In July 1574, Kılıç Ali Pasha sailed to Tunis with a fleet of 250 galleys and a large army under the command of Cigalazade Sinan Pasha, captured the port fortress of La Goleta on 25 August 1574, and the city of Tunis on 13 September 1574. During this expedition, on 26 July 1574, the forces of Kılıç Ali Pasha constructed an Ottoman fortress on the coastline of Morocco, facing Andalusia in mainland Spain.