Algeria deploys 6,000-strong troops on Tunisian border

Citing a security source, the local El Khabar newspaper reported that the 6,000 ground troops of 8 brigades of Special Forces and National Gendarmerie are tasked with the mission of thwarting infiltration attempts by armed groups being tracked down in the neighboring Tunisia.

The source specified that military aircraft are conducting continuing air surveillance in the border with Tunisia, adding that the Algerian army is working in coordination with Tunisians who are hunting these armed groups in the area of Kasserine, near the Algerian border.

The source indicated that a direct line of communication has been established between the armies of the two nations, in a bid to accelerate the exchange of information between the security service in charge of counter-terrorism.

The Algerian army has been toughening control along the eastern border with Libya and Tunisia, following reports warning that armed groups are attempting to smuggle arms from Libya to Algeria, via the Tunisian border.