Tunisia arrests 17 jihadists

Tunisia arrested 17 suspects on Tuesday in a manhunt for jihadists near the Libyan border after a deadly raid it described as an unprecedented assault by the Islamic State group (ISIS).

Tunisian special forces take position during clashes with militants in the southern town of Ben Guerdane, near the Libyan border.

Analysts said Monday's co-ordinated attacks showed jihadists are keen to spread their influence from Libya to Tunisia and to set up a new stronghold in the country.

Prime Minister Habib Essid said about 50 extremists were believed to have taken part in the dawn attacks on an army barracks and police and National Guard posts in the border town of Ben Guerdane.

He said 36 attackers were killed and seven captured in a fierce firefight that also saw the deaths of seven civilians and 12 security force personnel.


Defence ministry spokesperson Belhassen Oueslati said 17 other suspects were arrested on Tuesday near a military barracks and handed over to the National Guard for questioning.

Essid said the militants "murdered one internal security force member in his own home" and that three civilians and 14 security personnel were also wounded.

"The [security forces'] reaction was rapid and strong. We won a battle and are prepared for any others," he said.

"Now they know Tunisia is no easy pushover and that it is not so simple to set up an emirate in Ben Guerdane."
On Monday, Essid said the operation's aim had been to create a "Daesh [IS] emirate" in the town.
Michael Ayari of the International Crisis Group think-tank agreed, saying the attacks were an "extension of the armed conflict so far confined to Libya".
Some ISIS jihadists "consider that Ben Guerdane could become a strategic 'liberated' zone that would include southeastern Tunisia and the Tripoli region," the analyst said.