@RRowleyTucsonRobert Rowley
Tunisian army kills armed infiltrators near Algeria
Sept 21 (Reuters) - Tunisian troops killed several armed infiltrators on Wednesday in clashes near the border with neighbouring Algeria, a Defence Ministry spokesman said.
"Helicopters destroyed seven of nine vehicles spotted by an aerial patrol of the army in the town of Bir Znigra," spokesman Haykel Bouzouita said. "Several armed men were killed."
The vehicles were mounted with anti-aircraft guns, which were used to fire at a Tunisian army helicopters, he said.
The southern town of Bir Znigra lies 20 km (15 miles) from the border with Algeria. The spokesman did not identify the nationalities of the armed men.
Tunisia's borders with Algeria and Libya have been occasionally tense since the start of the revolt against Muammar Gaddafi seven months ago. Armed Libyans clashed with Tunisian troops last month in the final days before the fall of Tripoli.
(Reporting by Tarek Amara; Editing by Joseph Nasr and Angus MacSwan)
