Explosive device kills four Tunisian soldiers in mountain region near Algerian border

An improvised explosive device killed four Tunisian soldiers patrolling in a mountain region near the Algerian border, Defense Ministry spokesman Mohammed Zekri said on Wednesday.

For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app

The mountainous Moghila area, near the impoverished city of Kasserine, is home to a militant group that the Tunisian army has been fighting for years.

Read more:

Hundreds of Tunisians protest against police abuses

Tunisian president rejects reshuffle, escalating political crisis

No poison found in suspect letter to Tunisian President Kais Saied

Tunisia faces a small but persistent militant threat, foreign diplomats focused on security say.

As well as extremist cells holed up in remote mountain regions, who have not made successful forays beyond their strongholds in recent years, there is also a threat from militants radicalised online.

Last year militants tried to attack the US embassy in Tunis, killing a policeman at a security point with a suicide vest, and months later stabbed two security officers in a knife attack in the city of Sousse.

In October, a young Tunisian migrant arrived in France and immediately killed three people in a church.