Four police, three militants killed in Tunisia anti-terror raids

Four policemen and three suspected jihadists were killed during security operations Wednesday near the capital and in southern Tunisia, in the latest violence to hit the country, officials said.

Tunisia, the birthplace of the Arab Spring, has suffered from a wave of jihadist violence since its 2011 revolution that ousted longtime dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.

In Wednesday's deadliest confrontation, four policemen were killed when a militant detonated his explosives belt after a firefight erupted in the Tatouine governorate, said the interior ministry.

A national guard unit had carried out the raid acting on information from an "anti-terrorist" operation earlier the same day near Tunis.

"One terrorist element was shot dead while the other detonated his explosive belt, killing two officers and two agents of the national guard," said the ministry.

In the earlier raid, two suspected jihadists were killed near the capital in the operation against a cell planning "simultaneous" attacks, the same source said.

Sixteen others were arrested during the operation in Ariana province just outside Tunis, and Kalashnikov assault rifles, pistols and ammunition seized.

The interior ministry said the suspects had gathered in the area from different parts of the country.

The owner of the house that was rented by the suspected extremist cell, and raided Wednesday, told The New Arab that the tenants did not arouse any suspicions and kept to themselves.

"I used to see two of them smoking outside the house on occasion. Some of the neighbours thought the house was still vacant and up for rent," due to the lack of activity, said landlord Bashir al-Bijawi.

"Everyone in the neighbourhood was shocked to see the raid and to discover that those young men were planning a terrorist attack against the country."

The Islamic State group claimed brazen attacks last year on the National Bardo Museum in Tunis and a beach resort near Sousse that killed a total of 60 people, all but one of them foreign tourists.

A November suicide bombing in the capital, also claimed by IS, killed 12 presidential guards and prompted the authorities to declare a state of emergency.

Thousands of Tunisians have joined jihadist groups in conflict zones such as Iraq, Syria and Libya over the past few years.

Agencies contributed to this report.