Tunisian security forces have killed
five suspected Islamist militants in the mountains near the central
town of Gafsa, officials say.
The operation is ongoing, an interior ministry spokesman told AP news agency.
Tunisia
has declared a state of emergency after 38 tourists were killed in an
attack by an Islamist gunman in the beach resort of Sousse on 26 June. Thousands of British tourists have left the country after a new travel alert from the UK foreign office.
It said that another terror attack in the country was "highly likely" and urged Britons to leave.
Other countries like Germany and France, however, have not followed suit.
France,
which accounts for the largest number of tourists in Tunisia, says its
nationals should be "particularly vigilant" but has stopped short of
telling them to leave.
Germany said it was sending a team to assess the security situation in Tunisia in the next few days.
Tunisia's tourism:
Total number of tourists for 2012: 6 million
Top five nationalities by nights stayed in Tunisian hotels by non-residents (2012 - latest figures available):
French: 23%
German: 18%
Italian: 12%
Belgian: 6%
British: 5%
Source: Tunisian national institute of statistics Officials have not suggested there is a link between the mountain operation and the June attack.
The army has been trying to dislodge militant groups from the mountains near the border with Algeria for several years. Military
helicopters have been pursuing other suspects as part of the operation
being led by the Tunisian army and national guard, an unnamed security
source told Reuters news agency.
It is not clear which group the militants killed in the operation belong to.
The Sousse gunman has been identified as student Seifeddine Rezgui, who authorities say had trained in Libya.
Tunisian
Prime Minister Habib Essid told the BBC that Rezgui had probably
trained with the Ansar al-Sharia group, though Islamic State (IS)
earlier said it was behind the attack. Live news updates from Africa
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