Clashes Renew in Tunisia as Thousands Mourn

Local Editor

Fresh clashes in Tunisia's Ben Guerdane area near the Libyan border left 10 terrorists and a soldier dead as thousands attended funerals Wednesday for victims of a major assault.

The assault, launched Monday on army and police posts and blamed by authorities on Daesh [the Arabic acronym for the Takfiri "ISIS" group], and ensuing unrest has left 46 terrorists, 13 members of security forces and seven civilians dead.

Daesh took advantage of Libya's chaos to gain an important foothold in the country and there are fears of its influence spreading into neighboring Tunisia.

After fighting off Monday's fierce assault, Tunisian security forces have been hunting and clashing sporadically with terrorists in the area, where a nighttime curfew has been in effect since Monday.

Two terrorists and a soldier were killed on Wednesday when fighting erupted after the extremists tried to raid a building site in search of provisions, officials said. Another terrorist was shot dead while hiding in a house in the city.

Relatively, the defense ministry warned that those entering a designated buffer zone along the border without permission would be dealt with "firmly."

Authorities would respond "with force against anyone" who does not cooperate, the ministry warned.

Meanwhile, thousands still turned up for funerals of the victims of Monday's attacks, as the bodies of 11 people were buried in the town cemetery in an area newly designated "The Martyrs of March 7."

Mourning took place nationwide, and schools across the country held a minute's silence in memory of the civilians and members of the security forces martyred in the assault.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team