Tunis, AFP, 23 February 2016 – A suspected militant was killed \in an exchange of fire with security forces in a mountainous area of central Tunisia, a defense ministry spokesman said.
“For two weeks, military forces have been tracking a group of terrorists in the Mount Mghila area,’ the defense ministry’s Belhassan Oueslati told AFP.
“One terrorist was killed in an exchange of fire with a military unit,” he said, adding that the operation was ongoing.
Mount Mghila is adjacent to Mount Chaambi, which is considered to be the main rear base of militants on the border with Algeria.
Tunisian forces have been hunting down militants in the area since 2012.
Earlier this month, security forces killed three suspected militants in the rugged mountainous Tounine area, 30 km south of the coastal town of Gabes.
The interior ministry, for its part, said the 60-year-old man was killed during an anti-terrorist operation in the Jendouba region in the northwest.
“This man was near the theatre of operations in the town of Oued Melliz”, ministry official Yasser Messbah said.
The operation led to the arrest of 16 suspected militants including one who was wounded in an exchange of fire with the security forces, he added.