Tunisia denies 25 killed in shootout

TUNIS, Jan 3 (Reuters) Tunisian authorities today denied a report that security forces had shot dead 25 members of a criminal gang near Tunis.

''It's a completely false number,'' a government source told Reuters. The source did not say how many people had been killed in the incident.

A security source earlier said 25 criminals were killed in an exchange of fire with security forces in the town of Slimane 30 km south of Tunis.

REUTERS PB HT0000