Tunisian forces have killed nine Islamist militants, including a top commander, during a raid yesterday.
The incident occurred hours before world leaders marched in Tunis in solidarity after an attack on the Bardo museum this month.
French President Francois Hollande was among those who attended the march, along with thousands of Tunisians, after the attack nearly two weeks ago, in which 24 people died, including 21 tourists, two militants and a Tunisian policeman.
Tunisia's Prime Minister Habib Essid told reporters the raid in the southern Gafsa region killed nine militants from the local group Okba Ibn Nafaa, including an Algerian militant Lokman Abu Sakhr, accused of helping orchestrate the Bardo attack.
Thousands of police and soldiers were positioned around the capital earlier today before the "Le Monde est Bardo" (The World is Bardo) protest along a main boulevard leading to the museum known for its collection of Roman mosaics.
The attack at the Bardo was one of the worst in Tunisia's history.
The North African country has mostly avoided violence since its 2011 uprising against autocrat Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali.
It has been praised by the international community as a model of democratic transition with a politics of compromise, a new constitution and free elections.
