Tunisia’s Interior Ministry says two militants blew themselves up during a security raid in Tunisia’s central-western province of Sidi Bouzid on Thursday.
According to the ministry, which is in charge of home security in Tunisia, the dawn operation targeted a house used as a shelter by “terrorist elements” in the town of Jilmah.
“The two militants detonated explosive belts they were wearing during the crackdown, which also triggered an exchange of fire,’’ the ministry said in a statement.
Tunisian media reported that three other armed militants were killed in the operation, a report that the ministry has not confirmed.
In recent years, Tunisia has witnessed a string of attacks, most of them claimed by Islamic State group and as such has stepped up a massive crackdown on suspected extremists across the North African country.