Tunis: Tunisian special forces have killed a senior commander of a Daesh affiliate during clashes with the group in a central, mountainous region, the Tunisian Ministry of Defence said on Thursday.
Security forces are engaged in a crackdown on Daesh terrorists after they carried out four major attacks last year. Dozens died in assaults on a Tunis museum, a beach resort and a border town near Libya, crippling Tunisia’s vital tourism industry.
Tunisian troops often clash with militants allied with Al Qaida operating near the Algerian border, but last year’s attacks were claimed by fighters loyal to Daesh or its local affiliate Jund Al Khilafah.
“After monitoring terrorist elements in the Mghila mountains, special forces clashed with the terrorists and killed Saif Al Deen Jammali known as Abu Qaqaa, one of the most dangerous terrorist leaders in Tunisia in Jund Al Khilafah,” the defence ministry said.
It said the special forces seized weapons and other military equipment in the operation late on Wednesday, without giving more details.
Last week Tunisian forces killed in raids two militants and arrested 37 others, most of them trained in Libya. They had planned sychronised attacks in the capital using explosives and weapons smuggled across from Libya, the authorities said.
Daesh has carved out a base in Libya, taking over the city of Sirte. Security sources say many of Daesh’s commanders in Libya are Tunisians who have established training camps there and threatened to carry out attacks on Tunisia.
