Tunisia police kill ‘fighters’ near Algeria

Officers shoot three suspected fighters and arrest six others in raid near border with Algeria, Tunisia government says.

Interior Ministry spokesman Ali Aroui shows a picture of Rageb Hannachi, who was killed in the raid [Reuters]

Tunisia police have shot and killed three suspected fighters and arrested six others in a raid near the Algerian border, the Tunisian government has said.

Clashes broke out on Monday morning when security forces raided a house in northwest Jendouba, where last month gunmen disguised as police had killed three officers and a civilian in an attack.

“Our special forces killed three terrorists including two Tunisians and another, who is likely an Algerian, and arrested
six others linked to this group,” Interior Ministry spokesman Ali Aroui told a news conference.

Algerian troops over the weekend killed seven fighters who had crossed over from the Tunisian side of the border.

A small group of fighters linked to al-Qaeda have been using Tunisia’s Chambi mountains as a refuge.

Since Tunisia’s 2011 uprising, security forces have been battling fighters from the hardline movement Ansar al-Sharia, which the United States in January listed as a foreign terrorist organisation.

Aroui said security forces found weapons and an explosive belt in the house after the raid.

Two security force officers were also wounded, the Reuters news agency reported.

Source: News Agencies