Reuters AlertNet Lite - Tunisia says 12 killed in a rare shoot out

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Tunisia says 12 killed in a rare shoot out

04 Jan 2007 09:26:42 GMT
Source: Reuters

TUNIS, Jan 4 (Reuters) - Security forces shot dead 12 criminals and arrested 15 near Tunis after a rare gunbattle in the usually peaceful North African country, a government source said on Thursday.

"The tracking of members of a criminal group ended on Wednesday afternoon with security forces killing 12 members of a criminal group and arrested 15 others," the source said.

The authorities have said Wednesday's clash in a southern Tunis suburb, a rare serious breach of security in the country of 10 million, resulted from a hunt for a gang of criminals who clashed with police in Tunis on Dec. 23.

In last month's incident, two gang members were killed and two policemen wounded, the authorities said at the time. Newspapers at the time reported that the gang was trafficking in drugs.

The government deployed hundreds of paramilitary police and to guard crossroads and search orange groves outside Tunis over the past 13 days, residents said.

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Last updated:Thu Jan 4 09:28:12 2007