This article is from the source 'washpo' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/tunisia-bloodied-53-dead-in-clashes-near-libyan-border/2016/03/07/68b6ca9e-e4c9-11e5-a9ce-681055c7a05f_story.html

The article has changed 5 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Tunisia bloodied: 53 dead in clashes near Libyan border Tunisia: Death toll up to 55 in clashes near Libyan border
(about 11 hours later)
TUNIS, Tunisia — Exceptionally deadly clashes between Tunisian forces and extremist attackers left at least 53 people dead Monday near Tunisia’s border with Libya, the government said, amid growing fears that violence from Libya could destabilize the whole region. TUNIS, Tunisia — The death toll from clashes between Tunisian forces and extremist attackers near the Libyan border has risen to 55, including 36 attackers, Tunisian Prime Minister Habid Essid said Tuesday.
Gunmen attacked the city of Ben Guerdane at dawn Monday and fighting continued past nightfall. Tunisia closed its border with Libya and the Tunisian interior and defense ministers traveled to the town to oversee the operation, according to a joint statement from their ministries. Essid said seven civilians and 12 members of Tunisia’s security forces also died, and 17 others were injured.
Tunisian Prime Minister Hassid Essid said on Wtaniya television that the attack was an Islamic State attempt to carve out a stronghold on the border. No group claimed immediate responsibility, but two IS-affiliated websites said Islamic State group militants were engaged in the fighting. “The attack that happened yesterday showed that our military and security forces were ready,” he told a press conference. “We won a battle, but we haven’t yet won the war on terror, and that war continues.”
“This is an unprecedented attack, planned and organized. Its goal was probably to take control of this area and to announce a new emirate,” Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi said. No group immediately claimed responsibility for Monday’s attack in the city of Ben Guerdane, but websites affiliated with the Islamic State group said IS militants were handed a tough blow by Tunisian security forces. One website published more than 30 pictures showing militants’ bodies as well as weapons and munitions seized.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemned the attack and reiterated the U.N.’s commitment “to stand with the people of Tunisia as they confront the scourge of terrorism and work to preserve the gains of the revolution,” his spokesman said. Essid said that about 50 gunmen — most of them Tunisians — took part to the attack. Only four out of the 36 attackers killed have been formerly identified. Essid did not give more details about the attackers’ background but said some came from Libya.
At dawn Monday, gunmen targeted a police station and military facilities in Ben Guerdane, Tunisian Interior Ministry spokesman Yasser Mosbah told The Associated Press. A night curfew was ordered in Ben Guerdane until further notice.
The attack and ensuing fighting left 35 attackers, seven civilians and 11 members of Tunisia’s security forces dead, according to the joint government statement.
A 12-year-old girl was among those killed.
Corpses lay in the street and gunmen hid in homes as darkness fell, gunfire sporadically ringing out, according to resident and local journalist Raoudha Bouttar.
Another witness, who spoke on condition of anonymity out of fear of repercussions from the attackers, said the gunmen spoke of creating a caliphate and “liberating” the town.
Tunisian forces have repeatedly clashed with extremists on the borders of Libya and Algeria in recent years, but Monday’s fighting was unusually bloody. Tunisia has been as a model of relative stability for the region since an uprising five years ago ushered in democracy and inspired Arab Spring protests against dictatorships across the region.Tunisian forces have repeatedly clashed with extremists on the borders of Libya and Algeria in recent years, but Monday’s fighting was unusually bloody. Tunisia has been as a model of relative stability for the region since an uprising five years ago ushered in democracy and inspired Arab Spring protests against dictatorships across the region.
An uprising in neighboring Libya led to the ouster and killing of longtime autocrat Moammar Gadhafi in 2011, but since then the country has fallen into chaos, allowing the Islamic State group to take control of several cities. The divided country is ruled by two parliaments: an internationally recognized body based in the eastern city of Tobruk and a rival government, backed by Islamist-allied militias, that controls the capital, Tripoli.An uprising in neighboring Libya led to the ouster and killing of longtime autocrat Moammar Gadhafi in 2011, but since then the country has fallen into chaos, allowing the Islamic State group to take control of several cities. The divided country is ruled by two parliaments: an internationally recognized body based in the eastern city of Tobruk and a rival government, backed by Islamist-allied militias, that controls the capital, Tripoli.
Essid said the gunmen targeted a police station and military facilities in Ben Guerdane after launching their attack from a nearby mosque. He said attackers were arrested and gave information that led to the discovery of a weapons cache.
The prime minister also confirmed that the chief of the anti-terrorism brigade in Ben Guerdane was among those killed. He was killed in his house when he was preparing to go to work, at the beginning of the attack.
Tunisia is especially worried about the IS presence in Libya after dozens of tourists were killed in attacks in Tunisia last year. IS extremists claimed responsibility for those attacks, and Tunisian authorities said the attackers had been trained in Libya.Tunisia is especially worried about the IS presence in Libya after dozens of tourists were killed in attacks in Tunisia last year. IS extremists claimed responsibility for those attacks, and Tunisian authorities said the attackers had been trained in Libya.
The Tunisian military sent reinforcements and helicopters to the area around Ben Guerdane and authorities were hunting several attackers still at large. Officials urged residents to stay indoors. Last week, Tunisian security forces killed five heavily armed men in an hours-long firefight after they crossed into the country from Libya with a larger group. Tunisian security forces had been placed on alert based on “precise information” of possible border infiltrations following a Feb. 19 U.S. raid on an IS camp near the Libyan town of Sabratha, not far from the Tunisian border.
France’s foreign ministry condemned Monday’s attack and identified the gunmen as “terrorists coming from Libyan territory.” A jihadist wrote on an IS-affiliated website that the gunmen in Ben Guerdane were part of a group that withdrew from Libya because “they were under big pressure, live in a difficult situation and being sought after by everyone especially after last month’s U.S. airstrike.”
“This attack just reinforces the urgent need for a political solution in Libya,” the ministry said in a statement, adding that Tunisia was targeted because of its “exemplary democratic transition.”
Last week, Tunisian security forces killed five heavily armed men in an hours-long firefight after they crossed into the country from Libya with a larger group. Tunisian security forces had been placed on alert based on “precise information” of possible border infiltrations following a Feb. 19 U.S. raid on an IS camp near the Libyan town of Sabratha, not far from the Tunisian border, the French statement said.
Defense Minister Farhat Horchani said last week that German and American security experts were expected to arrive Monday in Tunis to help Tunisia devise a new electronic video surveillance system of its border with Libya.
___
Associated Press reporter Samuel Petrequin in Paris contributed to this report.
Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.