Tunisian army clashes with militants

Tunisian media sources reported clashes between the Tunisian army and militant groups on Wednesday evening in the country's desert region. The local state-run Tataouine radio station said a helicopter belonging to the national army fought with an armed group in a desert area near Borj el-Khadra in the heart of Tataouine province (100km in the far south of Tunisia). The sources added that the Tunisian military helicopter was subjected to artillery fire from a car equipped with an anti-aircraft gun while it was on a routine surveillance mission. The radio station stated that the military aircraft responded by firing shells which resulted in the destruction of three cars apparently packed with arms. It added that the Tunisian army combed the area until sunrise on Thursday. In related news, several media and security sources stated that Tunisia's air force bombed a camp of an armed group suspected of belonging to al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), the militant group's regional branch. The source pointed out that the armed group was using the camp as a training centre in the depth of the Tunisian desert. This is the first time Tunisia has reported such operations since al-Qaeda leader, Ayman al-Zawahri, announced his opposition to the country's ruling  moderate-Islamist Ennahda party.