A “terror” suspect has been killed and four have been arrested in a dawn raid on Sunday by Tunisian security forces, the Tunisian Interior Ministry stated.
The interior ministry said the dawn raid targeted a house, in the southern Tunis suburb of Ouardia, where a group of "key terror" suspects were hiding.
The announcement came as the Islamist-led government faces demands to step down after the recent assassination of opposition MP Mohamed Brahmi, the second to be assassinated in six months.
The raid came amid rival protests for and against the coalition government led by the moderate Islamist Ennahda party.
Authorities say the same gun that killed Brahmi on July 25 was used to murder opposition politician Chokri Belaid in February, pointing the blame at jihadists but failing to arrest anyone in either case.
"One of the members of the group was eliminated in an exchange of fire, and four were arrested," the ministry said.
The statement did not explain the charges to be levied against the suspects.
Tunisian forces stepped up an offensive, launched in December, against Islamist militants near the Algerian border, following the gruesome discovery last Monday of eight soldiers with their throats cut after an ambush by militants.
The land and air assault is underway in the Mount Chaambi region were authorities say Islamists suspected of ties with al-Qaeda have hideouts.
(With AFP)
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