One extremist killed in crossfire with police in Tunisia

TUNIS, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- The Tunisian Ministry of Interior said Saturday that an armed religious extremist was killed in an exchange of fire with security units in the central western province of Kasserine.

Security units surrounded a group of armed terrorists, killing one and injuring two others during the exchange fire, said ministry spokesman Khalifa Chibani.

Special units had been closely scrutinizing the terrorists for three days ahead of the raid, private radio Mosaique cited Chibani as saying.

A sweeping operation is being launched in Kasserine to track down the remnants of the terror group, he added.