Tunisian forces have killed three Algerian al Qaeda leaders after a gun battle in the mountainous Kasserine region near the Algerian border. The three were killed after a successful search operation by the Tunisian national guard in terrorist hideouts near her border with Algeria.
The interior ministry said one of the three alleged jihadists, identified as El Behi Akrouf and nicknamed Abu Salma, could be a top leader of Okba ibn Nafaa – the Tunisian branch of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) the other two were identified as ahar Jijli and El Mahi.
The three are believed to be some of the most dangerous and radicals in AQIM. They are alleged to have participated in a July 2018 attack that killed six policemen near Jendouba in northwestern Tunisia
Tunisia’s Kasserine region remains a hideout for jihadist groups, including AQIM and the Islamic State group-affiliate Jund al-Khalifa.
