Two children were killed and a woman wounded in a landmine blast Thursday in a mountainous region of western Tunisia known as a base for jihadists, the government said. The explosion occurred on Mount Salloum, in a military zone in the marginalised region of Kasserine that borders Algeria. The casualties were rushed to hospital where the children died soon after their arrival, the defence ministry said in a statement. The Kasserine region is considered a hideout for Okba Ibn Nafaa, the Tunisian branch of jihadist group Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).
The Tunisian army has been battling militants in the region since 2012. Civilians are banned from entering the area which has been classified as a military zone since 2014, but some still go there, including to graze their livestock.
Last month, a landmine blast killed four Tunisian soldiers during a counter-terrorism operation on nearby Mount Mhgila. Tunisia has seen a surge in radical Islam since veteran president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali was ousted in the country’s 2011 revolution. Dozens of members of the security forces have been killed since in jihadist attacks.
