Tunisia police kill two militants, civilian in raid after army ambush -source

TUNISIA (Reuters) - Two Islamist militants and a civilian were killed on Wednesday after Tunisian police in a dawn raid on a house in the central Kasserine province as part of operations following an ambush on soldiers in nearby mountains, a security source said. On Monday, three soldiers were killed and 8 wounded in an ambush by militants using landmines, rockets and gunfire on a military patrol in a remote mountain area. An al Qaeda-linked group, Okba Ibn Nafaa - based in the Mount Chaambi range near the Algerian border - often carries out strikes on army patrols, police and checkpoints in the rural areas around Kasserine province. Tunisia's armed forces are also trying to track down militants who have returned from fighting with Islamic State in Iraq, Syria and neighbouring Libya. Officials say about 4,000 Tunisians have left to fight for jihadists groups overseas. (Reporting by Tarek Amara; Writing by Patrick Markey; Editing by Louise Ireland)