Reports of exchange of gunfire at Tunisia's parliament: state news agency

[Hindustani78]

IS claims responsibility for Tunisia attack - The Hindu

IS, which is based in Syria and Iraq, has affiliates in neighbouring Libya, where many Tunisians have gone to fight and train with extremist groups.

Earlier this week, a prominent Tunisian field commander for IS was killed in fighting inside Libya.

Tunisia’s government, meanwhile, announced the arrest of nine people four of whom were connected directly to the attack and five others who supported them elsewhere in the country, authorities said.

 

[Hindustani78]

Nine arrested over Tunis museum attack, as security is boosted | euronews, world news

Authorities say they have identified two gunman shot dead by security forces after the attack, which targeted tourist buses visiting the museum.

“The operation is underway, we have good leads. Honestly speaking, there have been arrests,” said Habib Essid, Tunisian Prime Minister.

“But we hope that when the operation is completed, we will have final results and we will be ready to give you all the details.”

 

[Hindustani78]

Tunisia arrests 4 family members of museum assailant - The Times of India

TUNISIA: Four relatives of an assailant killed in the deadly attack on the Bardo museum in the Tunisian capital have been arrested, the family and police said on Friday.

The sources told AFP that two brothers of the Khachnaoui family, their sister and father were arrested on Wednesday night in Kasserine near the border with Algeria, where the family has a small farm.

Yesterday, the presidency announced the arrests of "four people directly linked to the (terrorist) operation and five suspected of having ties to the cell".

 

[Hindustani78]

Museum raiders trained in Libya: Tunisia | Mid-East | Saudi Gazette

TUNIS — Tunisia said two gunmen who killed 21 people at its national museum trained at a militant camp in Libya, as the country marked its Independence Day in sombre fashion Friday. The Islamic State group has claimed Wednesday’s attack on foreign tourists in Tunis, the deadliest since Tunisia’s 2011 revolution which sparked the Arab Spring regional uprisings. The two assailants “left the country illegally last December for Libya and they were able to train with weapons there,” Secretary of State for Security Rafik Chelly told Tunisian television. IS, which has hundreds of Tunisians among its ranks, threatened more attacks in an audio message posted online Thursday claiming responsibility for the museum massacre. Chelly named locations of several suspected training camps for Tunisians in violence-wracked Libya, including the second city Benghazi and the coastal town of Derna, which has become a stronghold for militants. The president’s office said security forces arrested nine suspects — “four people directly linked to the (terrorist) operation and five suspected of having ties to the cell”. — AFP

 

[Hindustani78]

One Tunisian soldier killed, two wounded in landmine blast| Reuters
Mon Mar 23, 2015 6:31am EDT

One Tunisian soldier was killed and two wounded in a landmine blast late on Sunday in a central region bordering Algeria where security forces have been fighting Islamist militants, authorities said.

Tunisian forces are on high alert after gunmen stormed the Bardo museum in Tunis last week, killing 20 foreign tourists in the worst attack in the North African country in more than a decade.

The army has also been trying to hunt down a small group of al Qaeda-linked fighters who use the Chaambi mountains near Algeria as a base for attacks.

 

[Hindustani78]

Fourth French citizen dies of Tunisia attack wounds| Reuters
Sat Mar 28, 2015 1:50pm EDT

(Reuters) - A fourth French national has died of her wounds following the March 18 attack on Tunisia's national museum, the French president's office said in a statement on Saturday.

The statement named the deceased as Mrs Dupeu but gave no further details.

Japanese, Italian, Spanish and British visitors, as well as Tunisians, were among the 22 victims of the attack, which took place in the heavily guarded parliament compound of a country largely spared the violent aftermath of the Arab Spring.

French President Francois Hollande will take part in a march in memory of the victims in Tunis on Sunday. The militant group Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the attack.

(Reporting by Ingrid Melander and Marine Pennetier; Editing by Stephen Powell)

 

[Hindustani78]

Key suspect in Tunisia museum attack killed - The Hindu
Updated: March 29, 2015 17:32 IST

Tunisia’s Prime Minister Habib Essid said on Sunday a key suspect in a deadly museum attack on foreign tourists has been killed in anti-terrorist operations, as tens of thousands of Tunisians marched through the capital to denounce extremist violence.

State news agency TAP cited Mr. Essid as saying that Khaled Chaieb, also known as Abou Sakhr Lokman, was killed overnight in an operation in the Gafsa region near the Algerian border.

Chaieb is believed to be a prominent militant in al-Qaeda’s North African arm, and suspected of leading or helping lead the March 18 attack on the National Bardo Museum.

Twenty-two people, mainly foreigners, and two gunmen were killed in the attack.

 

[Hindustani78]

Four Tunisian soldiers killed in militant attack on checkpoint| Reuters
Tue Apr 7, 2015 12:55pm EDT
(Reuters) - Islamist militants attacked a Tunisian military checkpoint on Tuesday, killing four soldiers and wounding three others in a raid in a central region bordering Algeria.

Tunisian forces have tightened security since gunmen stormed the national Bardo museum in the capital Tunis last month killing 21 foreign tourists in the North African country's worst militant assault in more than a decade.

Army spokesman Belhassen Ousalti said the checkpoint was attacked near the town of Sbitla in the central Kasserine region, close to a mountain range that borders Algeria.

"Security forces are pursuing the terrorists near the Jbel Mguila mountain area," he said.

State news agency TAP, citing a security source, said around 30 to 35 militants were involved in the attack. They opened fire with automatic rifles on the checkpoint.

Since its 2011 uprising against autocrat Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali, Tunisia has seen the rise of ultra-conservative Islamists. Some movements, including local militant groups Ansar al-Sharia and Okba Ibn Nafaa, have turned to violence.

Japanese, Polish, Spanish, French and Colombian tourists were among those killed in the Bardo museum attack that the government says targeted Tunisia's vital tourism industry.

Islamic State claimed responsibility for that attack although the Tunisian government said fighters from Okba Ibn Nafaa, which has been mostly based in the Chaambi mountains bordering Algeria, were involved.

(Reporting by Tarek Amara; Writing by Patrick Markey; Editing by Tom Heneghan and Crispian Balmer)