(ANSAmed) - TUNIS, MARCH 7 - The Jihadist danger is more
serious than ever in Tunisia. With a surprise blitz at dawn
Monday, Isis attacked national Guard, army and police barracks
complexes at Ben Guerdane, the last city before the border with
Libya.
The terrorists who were repulsed then hit civilian targets.
At least 53 people were killed including 35 jihadists and 18 civilians and members of security forces. The dead included a 12-year-old girl. Seven terrorists were taken prisoner.
"Our country is at war against barbarism," said Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi.
The chain of events remains to be clarified but one thing is certain: the presence on Tunisian territory of groups of Isis affiliates or sympathisers that must not be undervalued by Tunisian authorities.
Precisely because of this Tunisian authorities decreed a night curfew in the city. The armed forces have secured entrances to Ben Guerdane and closed temporarily the frontier crossing points as well as stepping up patrols along the border.
It was the second such armed incursion in the area by a jihadist group in recent weeks though this time the attackers, while coming from Libya, had logistic support on the ground in Tunisia.
Nearly all the Tunisians fighting for Isis in Libya have Tunisian nationality. It was no coincidence that the authors of the terror attacks on the Bardo museum and Sousse last year were trained in the Libyan camps while Noureddine Chouchane, the main target of the US raid on Sabrata February 19, had Tunisian nationality.
It is also no coincidence that most of the terrorists who were killed in the American raid were from Ben Guerdane.
(ANSAmed).
The terrorists who were repulsed then hit civilian targets.
At least 53 people were killed including 35 jihadists and 18 civilians and members of security forces. The dead included a 12-year-old girl. Seven terrorists were taken prisoner.
"Our country is at war against barbarism," said Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi.
The chain of events remains to be clarified but one thing is certain: the presence on Tunisian territory of groups of Isis affiliates or sympathisers that must not be undervalued by Tunisian authorities.
Precisely because of this Tunisian authorities decreed a night curfew in the city. The armed forces have secured entrances to Ben Guerdane and closed temporarily the frontier crossing points as well as stepping up patrols along the border.
It was the second such armed incursion in the area by a jihadist group in recent weeks though this time the attackers, while coming from Libya, had logistic support on the ground in Tunisia.
Nearly all the Tunisians fighting for Isis in Libya have Tunisian nationality. It was no coincidence that the authors of the terror attacks on the Bardo museum and Sousse last year were trained in the Libyan camps while Noureddine Chouchane, the main target of the US raid on Sabrata February 19, had Tunisian nationality.
It is also no coincidence that most of the terrorists who were killed in the American raid were from Ben Guerdane.
(ANSAmed).
