Tunisian security tight after In Amenas

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TUNIS, Tunisia, Jan. 30 (UPI) -- Tunisia announced it deployed military forces along its borders with Algeria and Libya to protect oil and natural gas installations.

Militants aligned with al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb attacked the In Amenas natural gas facility in eastern Algeria this month. That attack left several militants and hostages dead after Algerian forces stormed the facility.

Tunisia placed forces along the border and Algeria announced plans to boost security around the energy sector, reports Bloomberg News. Abdelhamid Zerguine, chief executive officer of Algeria's state-run energy company Sonatrach, added that the company was examining security measures after the Algerian attack.

Sonatrach operated the In Amenas facility with British energy company BP and Norway's Statoil. Employees from both European countries died in the In Amenas attack.

Libya announced this week that it deployed a special unit to protect the energy sector. Militants involved in the Algerian raid were said to have crossed the Libyan border.

AQIM was said to have launched the attack in response to an Algerian decision to let French forces use its airspace to launch a military intervention in Mali. Militants seized control of northern Mali in early 2012.