Mine blast kills Tunisian soldier, wounds 3 others near Algerian border

Tunisian's president Beji Caid Essebsi, left, lays a wreath in memory of the victims of the terrorist attack at the Bardo Museum in Tunis, Sunday March 22, 2015. The two extremist gunmen who killed 21 people at a museum in Tunis trained in neighboring Libya before caring out the deadly attack, a top Tunisian security official said. (AP Photo/Ali Louati) (The Associated Press)

Fatma Laabidi, mother of victim Yassine Laabidi, gestures as her son's coffin is transported from his home, in Jallez Cemetery, prior to his funeral, in Tunis, Sunday, March 22, 2015. The two extremist gunmen who killed 21 people at a museum in Tunis trained in neighboring Libya before caring out the deadly attack, a top Tunisian Security official said. (AP Photo/Salah Ben Mohamed) (The Associated Press)

TUNIS, Tunisia – A Tunisian defense official says one soldier has been killed and three others wounded when a mine blew up their vehicle in a mountainous area known to be a refuge for al-Qaida linked Islamic radicals.

Lt. Col. Belhassen Oueslati, a Defense Ministry spokesman, said the incident occurred Sunday in a mountainous region near the Algerian border. Al-Qaida linked radicals have staged attacks against army and politicians in the area for the past two years.

The incident comes days after the Islamic State group claimed responsibility for an attack that killed 21 people at a museum in Tunis. Authorities say the two slain gunmen blamed for that attack had no clear links to extremists. Several well-armed groups in neighboring and chaotic Libya have pledged allegiance to the Islamic State.