At least 16 militants, civilians and members of the security forces have been killed in an Islamist attack on the Tunisian town of Ben Guerdane, on the North African nations frontier with restive Libya.
Reuters reported 16 people had been killed in the town, according to medical and security sources. Ten militants, five civilians and one soldier were killed in the fighting, officials said. Initial reports claimed the attackers used heavy weaponry in the dawn assault including rocket propelled grenades.
Local media in Tunisia has reported that fighters crossed over the border from Libya to launch a raid on a military barracks and a police station. Authorities instructed residents to remain in their homes after fighting erupted at around 4 am on Monday (7 March).
British troops are set to be deployed to Tunisia to secure the countrys 285mile-long border with Libya, which has become a refuge for the Islamic State (Isis/Daesh).
Libyan trained Tunisian militants have become Tunis primary security concern. One week ago five were killed in Ben Guerdane after security forces discovered a weapons cache in the town.
Islamists trained at IS and al-Qaeda camps in Libya were able to launch a series of attacks in Tunisia last year including on the Bardo Museum and the Sousse beach massacre in which 30 Britons were killed.
At the end of February, Islamic State militants captured by militias aligned with Libyas western government with Tripoli said they were planning a large scale assault on Ben Guerdane, Tunisia Live reported. The town is a hub for illegal cross-border trade and the trafficking of militants.
On 19 February US air strikes on Qasr Talil near the western Libyan town of Sabratha killed at least 30 Daesh fighters. According to reports the majority of the militants were Tunisian. The bombing targeted Tunisian national Noureddine Chouchane, who helped organise the Sousse beach massacre and the Bardo Museum attack. Two Serbian diplomats, also held hostage, were believed to have been killed in the same air strikes.
