Three Tunisian soldiers killed in militant attack on checkpoint

TUNIS (Reuters) - Islamist militants killed three Tunisia soldiers and wounded three more in an attack on Tuesday on a military checkpoint in the central region of Kasserine. Tunisian forces have tightened security and recently killed nine militants from a group officials blamed for orchestrating last month's Bardo museum attack in which two gunmen killed 21 foreign tourists. Army spokesman Belhassen Ousalti said the checkpoint was attacked near the town of Sbitla, close to the mountain range that borders neighbouring Algeria. "Security forces are pursuing the terrorists near the Jbel Mguila mountain area," he said. Since its 2011 uprising against autocrat Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali, Tunisia has seen the rise of ultra-conservative Islamists. Some movements, including local militant groups Ansar al-Sharia and Okba Ibn Nafaa, have turned to violence. Japanese, Polish, Spanish, French and Colombian tourists were among those killed in the Bardo museum attack that the government says targeted Tunisia's vital tourism industry. Islamic State claimed responsibility for that attack although the Tunisian government said fighters from Okba Ibn Nafaa, which has been mostly based in the Chaambi mountains bordering Algeria, were involved.