TUNIS: A roadside bomb killed two Tunisian soldiers yesterday in the mountainous border region near Algeria where security forces have been hunting Al-Qaeda linked jihadists, with the government warning of a “dangerous evolution.”

“At around 7:45 a.m. (0645 GMT), two soldiers were killed and two others wounded when a device exploded as their vehicle passed by in the Doghra area of Mount Chaambi,” said spokesman Mokhtar Ben Nasr.

The Defense Ministry said the blast occurred in a populated area. “The bomb was placed on a path next to the Chaambi park in a populated area. We consider that a dangerous evolution given that everyone who uses this path, citizens, soldiers and security forces, are targets,” it said.

A security source in Kasserine, the regional capital, told AFP one of the wounded soldiers could lose his leg.

Mount Chaambi is a rugged frontier region where the Tunisian Army has been tracking militants the government says are veterans of the rebellion in northern Mali with links to Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).

The army has intensified its search since the end of April, using mortar fire and dogs, after home-made land mines planted by the jihadists to protect their base wounded a dozen soldiers.

In all, around 20 soldiers have been injured by bombs but the latest attack marks the first deaths.

Residents of Kasserine demonstrated yesterday afternoon to condemn the violence.