Tunisia says jihadist leader killed in anti-terror raid

TUNIS: An Al-Qaeda leader was killed and another wounded during an anti-terror raid in Tunisia on Sunday, according to the country´s defence ministry.

Tunisian armed forces and national guardsmen led the operation against Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) in the mountainous Kasserine region near the Algerian border, ministry spokesman Mohamed Zekri told AFP. “A terrorist leader from the Okba Ibn Nafaa group was killed” and another injured in the ongoing operation, he said. Okba Ibn Nafaa is the Tunisian branch of AQIM. Various jihadist groups are active in the rugged frontier region of Kasserine, including the Islamic State group-affiliated Jund al-Khalifa, or “Soldiers of the Caliphate”. Security forces regularly carry out raids in the area. Tunisia faced a rise in jihadist activity after its 2011 revolution, with attacks killing dozens of security personnel, civilians and foreign tourists. While the security situation has significantly improved since a series of deadly attacks in 2015, Tunisia has maintained a state of emergency for four years and assaults against security forces have persisted.