At least 27 people were killed in a predawn firefight on Monday between attackers suspected of being Islamist militants and the Tunisian security forces at a military barracks near the border with Libya, Tunisian security officials said.
The clashes at Ben Gardane, 18 miles from the border, were the second in the district in a week and come at a time of growing concern that the war in Libya, where the Islamic State has aggressively expanded, is spilling into Tunisia .
Last month, American warplanes killed at least 43 people in an attack on an Islamic State training camp in Sabratha, Libya, 60 miles from the border with Tunisia .
American commanders say such strikes are part of an effort to contain the spread of the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, while the United States and its allies consider a much wider campaign of airstrikes against the group in Libya.