Less than a week after terrorists killed 15 soldiers along Tunisia's border with Algeria, Prime Minister Mehdi Jomaa is leading a high-level delegation to Tebessa on Tuesday (July 22nd).
The acting Tunisian premier will be accompanied by senior security and military officials. He will meet with his Algerian counterpart Abdelmalek Sellal to discuss military "co-operation and co-ordination", Jomaa's office said in a statement.
As Tunisia ended three days of mourning for the soldiers slain in Jebel Chaambi, Algeria pledged to help its neighbour "exterminate terrorism".
"I remain convinced that this odious crime will not weaken the brotherly nation of Tunisia and its valiant army's resolve to face abject terrorism," Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika wrote last Friday in a message to his Tunisian counterpart Moncef Marzouki.
Algeria had already ramped up monitoring of its eastern frontier, in the framework of the counter-terrorism and border security agreement signed with Tunisia last May and a military co-operation accord concluded last June.
Following the Jebel Chaambi attack, Bouteflika approved two military operations along the border, with the participation of at least 8,000 Algerian soldiers and 6,000 Tunisian troops, El Khabar reported on Sunday (July 20th).
Tunisia and Algeria agreed to launch a series of concurrent military operations, as part of a long-term security strategy to eliminate terrorist groups along the border.
The operations will focus on Kasserine in Tunisia and the adjacent Algerian valleys of Biskra and Tebessa.
The security plan includes the gathering and sharing of intelligence, military strikes against armed groups and preventive measures to crack down on jihadist cells.
According to a security source cited by El Khabar, the operations that have been agreed upon include actions against specific targets.
Troops from both sides will tighten their grip on the roads, lanes and paths along the various axes of the border, including those leading to the heights of Jebel Chaambi, to reduce the movement of terrorists and prevent them from transporting food to their strongholds.
Algerian forces - made up of ANP soldiers, special intervention units and border guards - have upped reconnaissance by air and land to prevent any infiltration of militants.
The initiative has already seen success. On Saturday, Algerian troops thwarted an attempt by two Tunisian terrorists to cross the border into El Tarf wilaya, Mosaique FM reported.
In just the past week, the Algerian army also eliminated six members of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and arrested a local figure in the terrorist organisation.
The security operations come in the wake of a July 12th roadside bomb blast that killed three Algerian soldiers and four communal guards in Sidi Bel-Abbes wilaya.
"This criminal act only reinforces the determination of the elements of the ANP to pursue and eliminate these terrorist groups," the defence ministry said in a statement.
© Magharebia.com 2014
