Two major events :
1.Tunisian security seizes weapons for terrorists in Ben Guerdane
Units of the Anti-Terrorism Departments and the Specialized Unit of the Tunisian National Guard seized weapons belonging to terrorists in the city of Ben Guerdane, in the governorate of Medenine.
The units found 11 rifles and 14 magazines containing 4,400 bullets, according to a statement by the Tunisian Ministry of Interior on its website today, Thursday.
Investigations by the National Unit for Research into Terrorism Crimes revealed that the weapons are linked to two people involved in arms smuggling operations for the benefit of terrorist organizations, according to the statement.
The Tunisian army announced, on Friday, the elimination of three armed fighters from a faction loyal to the "Islamic State" organization (ISIS), during an operation in the Kasserine region in the west of the country.
The Ministry of Defense said, in a statement, that it had managed, during a joint "field operation" with the security forces and the guards, on Friday morning in the heights of Jabal Salloum, to "eliminate three terrorists affiliated with the Jund al-Khilafa organization."
"Operations are underway to track down the remaining terrorist elements of the aforementioned organization," she added, noting that no casualties were recorded among the army and security forces.
The ministry's spokeswoman, Fadela Khleifi, explained, during a press conference, that the operation came after "accurate monitoring and follow-up of terrorist elements whose activities were tracked in the western highlands" of the country, stressing that the dead were "leading elements" and one of them was "the deputy emir of the Jund al-Khilafa Organization."
closed military operations area
In 2014, the authorities designated Jabal Salloum, and a number of other highlands in Kasserine, a “closed military operations area” to combat armed organizations.
Two members of the army were "slightly wounded" in a clash with gunmen in Jabal Salloum on August 12.
In addition to the "Soldiers of the Caliphate" loyal to the Islamic State, cells loyal to al-Qaeda are active in the mountains of the Kasserine border province with Algeria.
After the 2011 revolution, Tunisia witnessed a surge in the activity of armed groups that carried out bloody attacks, killing dozens, especially security forces and tourists, but the intensity of their activity declined since 2017 following extensive operations by the armed forces.
2. On Thursday, the Ministry of the Interior announced that it had carried out a “preemptive operation” in the city of Ben Guerdane, in the south of the country, which resulted in “the seizure of 11 Kalashnikovs, 14 magazines of ammunition and 4,400 bullets,” following the “disclosure of two people’s association with weapons smuggling operations for the benefit of terrorist organizations.”
Ben Guerdane, bordering Libya, witnessed one of the largest attacks in March 2016 targeting an army barracks, two police stations and the National Guard, and led to the killing of 13 security forces and seven civilians, while at least 55 militants were killed and dozens of others arrested, according to the Ministry of Interior.