TUNIS, Oct. 16 (Xinhua) -- Tunisian navy rescued 87 illegal immigrants of different African nationalities off the country's southeast coast, the defense ministry said in a statement released on Wednesday.

"The group of illegal immigrants includes nine women and 10 children," said the statement.

They were rescued 27 nautical miles (about 50 km) from the coast of Djerba.

According to the statement, the rescued confirmed that they had sailed from Libya toward the Italian coast.

The number of attempts of illegal immigration from the Tunisian coasts toward Italy has been increasing over the past period, despite the strict measures taken by the Tunisian authorities to combat the problem. Enditem

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