Tunisia says five ‘terrorists’ killed

Tunisian security forces killed five suspected jihadists on Friday in the country’s central Gafsa region, an interior ministry spokesman said.

“Five terrorists were killed” in Jebel Orbata, Walid Louguini told AFP.

He said the five had been under surveillance since early morning after an intelligence tip-off, and that the first shots were fired at 9 am.

He had no further details about the dead men.

“We have no casualties” among the security forces, Louguini said, adding that four Kalashnikov assault rifles, a grenade and a pistol were seized.

Since its January 2011 revolution, Tunisia has seen an increase in attacks by jihadists, who have been blamed for the deaths of dozens of police and soldiers.

Two gun attacks claimed by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) group have also killed 59 tourists in Tunisia in the space of three months.