In the wake of a security operation .. Presidential election campaigns in Tunisia

Campaigning for presidential candidates in two weeks began Monday in Tunisia, with a national guard officer and three gunmen killed in a security operation west of the country.

The candidates officially launched their campaigns inside the country after some of them launched on Saturday abroad through meetings with their supporters in European countries where there are large Tunisian communities such as Italy and France.

Immediately after midnight, Ennahdha's candidate, Abdel Fattah Mourou, pasted his photo in a frame bearing his candidacy number in the Bab Soubga area of ​​the capital.

Supporters also placed other candidates for the post of President of the Republic by pasting their pictures in places specified by the Independent Electoral Commission.

Among those suspended were businessman Nabil al-Qarawi, who was recently jailed on suspicion of corruption, but the commission said nonetheless that he had the right to compete for the position unless a verdict was issued against him.

The current Prime Minister and candidate of the party "Long live Tunisia" Youssef Chahed began his campaign in Tunisia from popular neighborhoods on the outskirts of the capital, and was accompanied by many supporters.

The witness began his campaign abroad on Saturday by holding a meeting with members of the Tunisian community in the French city of Lyon, at a time when the candidate of the Renaissance movement Abdel Fattah Moro held a similar meeting in the Italian city of Milan.

In the first election campaign, former President Moncef Marzouki is scheduled to meet his supporters in the southern city of Sfax, which will see an election day for an Ennahda candidate.

The Independent Electoral Commission has finally approved 26 candidates for the presidency elections scheduled for 15 of this month.

Security operation
On the first day of the election campaign, the Tunisian National Guard (Gendarmerie) carried out a security operation in a mountainous area in the city of Hydra, in the governorate of Kasserine, near the border with Algeria, during which three gunmen were killed.

National Guard spokesman Hossam al-Jabbali confirmed the deaths of the three gunmen and security officers.

For their part, Tunisian media quoted media sources as saying that the clash erupted after security forces ambushed the gunmen who were trying to infiltrate from a mountainous area in the province of Kef to another mountainous area in the governorate of Kasserine.

Although some attacks have been recorded in the past few months, including two bomb attacks on security personnel in June in the Tunisian capital, security forces have succeeded in killing several militants during pre-emptive operations.

Tunisian authorities estimate the number of militants operating in the west of the country near the Algerian border, especially in the mountains of Samama, Chaabi and Salloum, a few dozen belonging to organizations such as al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb and the Islamic State.

In an interview with Reuters last week, Kan told Tunisian Prime Minister Youssef Chahed that his country still faces terrorist threats.