Via AFP:

Tunisian troops clashed on Wednesday with around 50 armed jihadists in the remote Mount Chaambi border region, a security source said, the first such operation since the revolution in January 2011.

“The group consists of more than 50 Salafi jihadists,” the source told AFP, adding that they were well armed and some were veteran Islamist militants who had come from northern Mali.

An AFP journalist nearby reported hearing an exchange of gunfire in the area, close to Tunisia’s border with Algeria, which was surrounded by soldiers and patrolled by helicopters.

The group is commanded by an Algerian and two Tunisians originally from the regional capital, Kasserine, the security source said.

On Monday, Tunisian forces began their hunt for the group holed up in the mountainous region. Authorities simply described them as “terrorists,” refusing to give any further details because the operation was ongoing.

The gunmen laid homemade land mines in parts of the region which have already wounded around 10 soldiers and members of the national guard, some seriously, during the operation to flush them out.

The group originally consisted of 11 fighters for whom the Tunisian security forces have been searching since December, when they attacked the Bou Chebka border post and killed a member of the national guard.