Suspected militant shot dead in Tunisia

A suspected jihadist has been shot dead in western Tunisia near the Algerian border, a region where security forces have been hunting militants since 2012, the interior ministry announced Monday.

It said “a terrorist was killed” in an ambush staged by police special forces on Sunday night on Mount Sammama in the Kasserine region.

The dead man was being examined for identification while a second suspect was arrested on suspicion of providing support for “terrorist elements”, it said, using the official term for Islamist militants.

A quantity of TNT, grenades, a Kalashnikov assault rifle and night-vision binoculars were seized during the operation on Mount Sammama, located next to the main jihadist hideout of Mount Chaambi, the ministry said.

Tunisia has since its 2011 revolution faced an upsurge in jihadist violence that has cost the lives of several dozen soldiers and police, with most attacks claimed by Al-Qaeda's North African branch.

But the bloodiest attacks, for which the Islamic State group has claimed responsibility, killed a total of 59 foreign tourists, targeting the national Bardo museum in Tunis in March and a Sousse beach resort in June.