Fires blow up 22 mines in Tunisia’s Kasserine Mountains

The province of Kasserine has been witnessing a series of forest fires since last week, including the military zone

The blaze detonated 22 landmines planted by terrorists in the Kasserine mountains bordering Algeria, according to Civil Protection representative Imad Harissi.

In a statement to Al-Ain News, Al-Harissi said that the fires blew up 22 mines, including 17 mines in Djebel Mghila and 5 mines in Djebel Sammama.   

Hundreds of hectares of pine, Rosemary, thyme and Cladium mariscus trees were destroyed, he said.

Forest wealth in the region accounts for 19% of the forest area in the whole country of Tunisia, and the forest areas of the Aleppo pine represent 36% of the areas of the Tunisian pine.

Kasserine is home to the largest area of Cladium mariscus, 150 thousand hectares.

The Kasserine contain 158 thousand hectares of forest area and represent 19% of the beautiful area of a privileged forest and mountainous state.

The areas of the Aleppo pine, whose trees are more than eighty years old, represent 36% of the beautiful areas.

Kasserine was the scene of terrorist operations during the Muslim Brotherhood’s reign of terror over the last 10 years, which claimed the lives of dozens of Tunisian security soldiers.