TUNISIA: ARRESTED MILITANTS HAILED FROM ALGERIA, REPORT

Tunis, 4 Jan. (AKI) - A group of Islamic militants who engaged in a gunbattle with Tunisian security officials Wednesday in the area of Soliman, 40 km south of Tunis, hailed from Algeria, according to a report Thursday published by London-based Arabic language daily al-Hayat. Security forces shot dead 12 people and arrested 15 near Tunis after the rare gunbattle, a government source said on Thursday.

Al-Hayat reported that those killed were part of a larger group of militants who had crossed the border from Algeria.

Authorities claimed that Wednesday's clash during a hunt for a gang of criminals who clashed with police in Tunis on 23 December.

In last month's incident, two gang members were killed and two policemen wounded, the authorities said at the time.