2 suspected jihadis killed, 16 arrested near Tunis

Operation comes in shadow of a warning by Israel’s Counter-Terrorism Bureau for Jewish pilgrims to avoid Tunisia

Two suspected jihadists were killed on Wednesday during a security operation near the Tunisian capital, the country’s Interior Ministry said.

Sixteen others, some of them armed, were arrested during the operation in Ariana province just outside Tunis, it said in a statement.

A resident of the Sanhaji district told AFP that a two-hour gun battle erupted with the suspects after the national guard launched the raid at around 8 a.m. (0700 GMT).

“They were not from the neighborhood. We didn’t know them. They rented the house recently,” she said.

Israel’s Counter-Terrorism Bureau issued a “serve” travel advisory for Tunisia on Monday, warning of a “high” likelihood of attacks by jihadist groups, especially against Jewish targets.

A tourist visits El Ghriba, the oldest synagogue in Africa, on the Island of Djerba, southern Tunisia, October 29, 2015. (AP/Mosa’ab Elshamy)

Jews who hail from the Mediterranean Arab country travel each year to the island of Djerba in the country’s south, the historic home of an ancient community of Jewish priestly families, to celebrate the Lag B’Omer holiday, which this year falls on May 25-26.

Since its 2011 revolution, Tunisia has faced a growing jihadist threat, with the Islamic State group last year claiming a string of deadly attacks on vacationers and security forces that killed dozens.

Thousands of Tunisians have joined jihadist groups in conflict zones such as Iraq, Syria and Libya over the past few years.