Tunisian forces launched a wide-scale land and air operation against militants near the Algerian border on Friday, the military said, as Tunis battles a crisis sparked by a political slaying.
Tunisian forces launched a wide-scale land and air operation against militants near the Algerian border on Friday, the military said, as Tunis battles a crisis sparked by a political slaying.
"A huge operation, with ground and air units, was launched at dawn to clean up the (Chaambi) mountain" area, armed forces spokesman Taoufik Rahmouni told media outlets.
He said the assault was mounted after clashes on Thursday night between soldiers and "a terrorist group," referring to the militants.
"We have not killed or arrested any terrorists" to date, he said, without giving a number for the hunted militants.
A military source on the ground earlier told Agence France Presse "the terrorist group is surrounded" in the area, where eight Tunisian soldiers were slain this week.
"Either they give themselves up or they will be killed," he said.
The attack took place around 16 kilometers (10 miles) from the town of Kasserine, near Mount Chaambi, where the soldiers were found on Monday with their throats cut after an ambush by militants.
Tunisian troops have intensified their hunt for gunmen in Mount Chaambi since the spring, after several members of the security forces were killed or wounded by explosive devices.
With the authorities admitting an increase in Islamist extremism, they have pointed to links between the Chaambi militants, the assassins of opposition MP Mohammad Brahmi and fellow opposition head Chokri Belaid and Tunisia's main Salafist organization Ansar al-Sharia, which denies the accusation.