2 soldiers killed in Tunisia violence

Two Tunisian soldiers were killed and three others were wounded Monday, in clashes with "terrorist elements" in Mount Samama in the governorate of Kasserine.

Lieutenant Colonel Belhassen Oueslati, spokesman for the Ministry of Defence, told al-Araby al-Jadeed a Tunisian shepherd went missing on Monday evening, thought to be kidnapped by terrorists, prompting security forces to launch a search operation.

He added: "While searching for the missing shepherd, a terrorist camp was discovered, with corpses of sheep that had been slaughtered recently nearby. As army units moved closer...the terrorists opened fire at the troops, killing two soldiers and injuring three."

A group linked to al-Qaeda's North Africa branch, the Uqba bin Nafi battalion, claimed responsibility for the killings, according to the SITE group, which monitors extremist activities.

Oueslati said the terrorists are still holed up in the mountain, while the army continues to progress towards them.

The spokesperson said the missing shepherd being held by the terrorists, as he said, has not been found yet.

The area is near Mount Chaambi in western Tunisia, where dozens of security forces have died battling Islamic extremists.

The latest incident comes days after Tunisian mediators won the Nobel Peace Prize for averting civil war.

The violence is a reminder of the fragility of the peace in Tunisia celebrated by this year's Nobel. A quartet of mediators was awarded for bridging disputes between Islamist and opposition legislators.

Tunisia remains the only country to have emerged from Arab Spring uprisings with a functioning democracy, but has seen deadly attacks on tourists this year.