An alleged jihadist was shot dead in west-central Tunisia during an anti-terrorist operation, the interior ministry said on Tuesday evening.
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In a brief press release, the ministry specifies that this "terrorist" was killed during an operation carried out by military units and the national guard (gendarmerie) in the mountainous area of Kasserine, close to the Algerian border. Without adding further details, the ministry indicates that the operation is still in progress.
The mountain ranges of Kasserine remain a hideout for jihadist groups, such as Jund al-Khilafa, affiliated to the Islamic State Organization (IS), and Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (Aqmi). Mop-up operations are regularly carried out there by the police. Tunisia was faced after its revolution in 2011 with a boom in the jihadist movement, responsible for the deaths of dozens of soldiers and police, but also civilians and foreign tourists.
The country remains under a state of emergency since the suicide bombing attack committed in Tunis against presidential security (12 agents killed) in November 2015.
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