An ambush laid Sunday by a terror group to a unit of the Tunisian interior ministry forces resulted in the death of six forces in the west of the country near the border with Algeria, the ministry said.
An unidentified terror group caught by surprise a unit of Gar Dimaou police in the region of Jendouba, on a regular patrol at Ain Soltane, west of the country.
Six security forces were killed following the explosion of an anti-tank mine, the ministry said.
The attack also reportedly wounded three other policemen.
A conflicting report by state-run TAP news agency put the death toll at nine noting that a unit also engaged in a fire shootout with the terror group.
“The terrorist attackers threw a grenade at the first security car and there were confrontations with firearms,” the agency said.
The region, laced with mountains, is used by terror groups as a hideout.
The Sunday attack was the bloodiest since 2015; the year the North African country witnessed three dreadful attacks in which over 70 people, mostly foreign tourists were killed.
The attacks dealt a severe blow to the buzzing tourism sector.
Tunisia has been facing a surge in terror attacks since the 2011 revolution, which ousted former autocratic ruler Ben Ali.