Tunisian forces kill 2 ‘terrorists’ near site of border attack

Tunis: Tunisian authorities said two “terrorists” were killed on Saturday close to the southern town of Bin Guerdane near the border with Libya where terrorists mounted a deadly assault earlier this month.

Four people were also wounded in clashes - three civilians and a member of the security forces, the sources said.

“During security and military operations in Bin Guerdane, security forces and the army killed two terrorists holed up in a house... in the vicinity of the town,” the defence and interior ministries said in a joint statement.

The statement described “an exchange of fire between terrorists and security forces who were preparing to search the house,” adding that three civilians were wounded by shrapnel and a member of the National Guard was wounded in the foot.

On March 7, dozens of terrorists mounted a dawn assault on security installations in Bin Guerdane, which is near the border with unrest-plagued Libya.

Thirteen members of the security forces and seven civilians were killed in those attacks, according to official figures.

There was no claim of responsibility for the March 7 attacks, but the authorities blamed them on Daesh.

In the west, meanwhile, the army fought militants in clashes that left a soldier wounded, the defence ministry said.

“A soldier was wounded during an exchange of fire on Saturday morning between army units and a terrorist group at Jabal Samama” in the Kasserine region, said Lieutenant Colonel Belhassen Oueslati.

Separately, the interior ministry said three gunmen had opened fire overnight on a police outpost along the border with Algeria.

“There was an exchange of fire between security forces at the post and terrorists before the attackers fled,” a ministry statement said, adding that no one was injured.

Tunisia has failed to curb a rise in extremism since the 2011 revolution that ousted longtime dictator Zine Al Abedine Bin Ali.

Last year, Daesh claimed attacks on the Bardo museum in Tunis and a popular resort hotel, killing 59 tourists in total, and the suicide bombing of a bus that killed 12 presidential guards.

Thousands of Tunisians have signed up to fight abroad with extremist groups.