Tunisian forces killed 21 militants near Libya border - UPDATED

Baku. 7 March. REPORT.AZ/ Tunisian forces killed 21 Islamist militants on Monday after the militants attacked army barracks and police posts in Ben Guerdan town near the Libyan border, Report informs referring to the foreign media, the interior ministry said.

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Tunisian security forces have killed 10 militants after they launched a cross-border raid from Libya, an army spokesman says.

Report informs citing the foreign media, the militants attacked an army base and a police station in the eastern town of Ben Guerdane.

Three civilians and two soldiers were also killed in the clashes, AFP news agency reports.

There is concern in Tunisia about the threat of Islamist fighters based in Libya being able to cross the border.

Last week, Tunisian forces killed five militants in the same area after they had entered Tunisia with the aim of carrying out "terrorist attacks", Tunisia's Prime Minister Habib Essid said on his Facebook page.

Last year, two major attacks on tourist hot spots killed dozens of foreigners in the country.