Tunisian forces launched a land and air operation on Friday against militants near the Algerian border, the military said, as Tunis battled 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 Mosaique FM radio.
He said the assault was mounted after clashes on Thursday night between soldiers and “a terrorist group”.
“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 AFP “the terrorist group is surrounded” in the Mount Chaambi area where eight Tunisian soldiers were slain this week. He said helicopters had carried out air strikes.
“Either they give themselves up or they will be killed,” he told AFP.
He said the attack took place around 16 kilometres from the town of Kasserine, near Mount Chaambi, where the soldiers were found on Monday with their throats cut after an ambush by militants.
Mosaique FM said the raids were aimed at destroying militant hideouts. The explosions could be heard in Kasserine.
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.
A military source also said on Friday that a group of Salafists, a hardline branch of Sunni Islam, were arrested in a Kasserine mosque.
This weekÂ’s gruesome attack on soldiers has prompted the army in neighbouring Algeria to reinforce its presence along the border.