Tunisian forces seized three large arms caches near the border with Libya over the weekend, two on Saturday and the third was found on Sunday; including Kalashnikov rifles, rockets and landmines, according to the interior ministry.

The caches in the border city of Ben Guerdane will intensify Tunisia’s concerns of ISIS militants crossing over Libya, where pro-government forces are close to ending ISIS hold on Sirte city.

ISIS sent dozens of its militants into Ben Guerdane in March, attacking army and police posts and killing at least 53 people. Many of these militants in Libya are originally from Tunisia; Tunisia has increased security measures on the border with Libya to avoid the infiltration of hundreds of ISIS militants who may have fled from Sirte.

European countries are further assisting with all possible means to protect the border.

Last week a leader of a jihadist group that shot dead a soldier at his home has been hunted down and killed in a central region of Tunisia, the defense ministry stated.

“After giving chase to an armed group on the night of November 8 in the Mount Salloum area, military units gunned down the terrorist Talal Saidi,” a leader of the Jund al-Khilafa group, on Mount Mghilla, it said.

The country has been under a state of emergency for almost a year following a string of deadly attacks in 2015, claimed by groups affiliated with ISIS and Al-Qaeda in Maghreb.