Two jihadist groups the Tunisian army is pursuing on the border with Algeria belong to Al-Qaeda, interior ministry spokesman Mohamed Ali Aroui said on Tuesday.

"There are two groups, one in the Kef region with around 15 people and the other in Mount Chaambi with around 20 people," Aroui told a news conference, referring to the Islamist groups the army has been hunting since last week.

"There is a connection between the two groups, and the one in the Chaambi region has ties with the Okba Ibn Nafaa brigade, which is linked to Al-Qaeda," he added.